


The Monsters' Sacrifice

by RichardGraysonPercyJackson



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anal Fingering, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Bonding, Branding, Brother/Brother Incest, Collars, Crying, Double Anal Penetration, Dubious Consent, Egg Laying, Eggpreg, Forced Bonding, Forced Orgasm, Foursome - M/M/M/M, Human Sacrifice, Incest, Loss of Virginity, Love Confessions, M/M, Male Lactation, Manipulation, Mpreg, Multi, Nipple Licking, Nipple Play, Non-Consensual Touching, Nudity, Panic Attacks, Praise Kink, Priest Roy Harper, Public Nudity, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sacrifice, Slavery, Sort Of, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicidal Thoughts, Tentacle Monsters, Tentacle Rape, Tentacle Sex, Tentacles, Virgin Sacrifice, kinda OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-15
Updated: 2019-09-27
Packaged: 2020-05-12 02:46:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 24
Words: 27,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19219993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RichardGraysonPercyJackson/pseuds/RichardGraysonPercyJackson
Summary: Every year, Gotham City chooses one of her citizens to sacrifice to the demon who lives in the cave outside the city borders.This year, innocent college student Dick Grayson has been Chosen for The Sacrifice





	1. Chosen

**Author's Note:**

> Please read the tags before reading this story. While the first chapter isn't too bad, it WILL get worse.
> 
> Trust me.

 

“Dick, can you please wait a moment? I need to speak with you.”

Dick glanced up at Professor Walters as he was sliding his things into his backpack. It was his last class after a long week and he just wanted to go back to his dorm room and  _ sleep  _ for the next three days.

Perks of having Fridays off from class and work.

“Um...sure,” he said, setting his backpack down and walking up to his professor’s desk. “Is everything alright?”

“The annual Sacrifice is coming up,” Professor Walters began. “This Sunday, actually.”

Dick nodded. He was aware.

Every year since long before he had been born, Gotham City would pull out of a hat the name of one “lucky” citizen to be sent into the cave on the edge of the city and sacrificed to the being within. No one knew what happened but The Sacrifices were always found days or weeks later, either dead or in a coma that they never recovered from.

Of course, if they didn’t sacrifice anyone, the demon became enraged. So even though it seemed to deny their Sacrifices time and again, sacrificing someone once a year kept the demon from killing all of them.

“That’s right,” Dick said, unsure of why he was being told. “What does that have to do with me?”

Professor Walters sighed softly. “Your time here at the school is being suspended temporarily,” he said quietly. “You’ve been Chosen.”

Dick felt sick. “What?” was all he could manage. “No, that’s...that’s impossible. I-I’ve never done anything to get their attention. I’m a good kid, my grades are good-”

“It’s not up to me, you know that,” Professor Walters said. “I got the email this morning. The President of the college would like you to go to his office where he will take you to meet the Escorts.”

“Can I at least say goodbye to my family?” Dick asked weakly, even though he knew the answer.

Professor Walters gave a sad shake of his head. “I’m sorry. You know the rules.”

The rules were that his family would be sent a condolence check and he’d likely never see them again unless, by some miracle, he managed to survive whatever the demon did to Sacrifices.

He felt like he was going to cry. “He wants to see me now?” he asked weakly.

“Yes,” Professor Walters said. “You need to begin preparing as soon as possible.”

Dick knew that. It didn’t mean he had to like it. He closed his eyes tightly and tried not to cry.

“I understand,” he said softly as he turned to grab his things, trying to hide how his hands were shaking.

“It was wonderful to have you in class this semester,” Professor Walters said gently as he got to his feet. “And I wish you luck in whatever the future may bring for you.”

The statement “ _ if anything _ ” went unsaid, as well as “ _ I wish you a quick and painless death if it comes to that _ .”

Dick nodded wordlessly, pulling his backpack onto his shoulder as he turned and walked numbly down the hall, barely processing where he was going until he made it to the president’s office.

From there, everything was a dizzy blur. The president took him outside where five Escorts were waiting with a car to take him away to a temple on the outskirts of Gotham city. There, he would spent his Friday and Saturday “Cleansing” himself for the Demon.

Then early Sunday morning, long before the sun rose, he would be taken to the cave and left there for the demon to do as he so chose.

When Dick arrived at the temple, he was ushered to a long hall where he was fed before being guided out of the room into what would be his chambers for the next three nights.

They finally left him alone, if only for a few moments while they filled the bath in the bath house down the hall. As soon as they were gone, he allowed himself to curl up on the mattress and cry.

“You should feel honored to be Chosen,” one of the handmaidens said as Dick stepped into the steaming bath house and was promptly stripped before being helped into the tub.

“What’s your name?” he asked softly, reluctantly letting himself relax into the warm, bubbly water as she knelt behind him and began soaking his hair.

“Koriand’r,” she replied. “But if my name is that important to you, you may call me Kori. If there is anything you need or want while you’re here, I’m the one you can come to.”

“Can you tell me anything about the Demon?” he asked once they’d been quiet for a few moments.

Kori gave a soft sigh, shaking her head either in reply or to get her hair out of her bright green eyes.

“I’m afraid not,” she replied softly. “We know next to nothing about him. Or her.”

“So I’m literally walking into the jaws of death and no one can even tell me how I’m going to die,” Dick mumbled.

“You don’t know that you’re going to die,” Kori told him as she guided him out of the bath and wrapped him in a towel, drying him off a little  _ too  _ thoroughly in Dick’s opinion. “Perhaps you’ll get lucky.”

“This Demon is obviously immortal,” Dick told her as she dressed him in a silken robe and guided him out of the steaming bath, down well lit marble halls, the cold floor stinging his bare feet. “How many of its sacrifices have  _ lived  _ in the last ten years alone?”

Kori did not reply, either because she didn’t have an answer or because a redhead in a golden robe similar to Dick’s had stepped into their path.

“I can take him from here, Koriand’r,” the man said, giving Dick a gentle smile.

“I wish you luck,” Kori told Dick. “You can call me if you need anything before The Day.”

The Day. Dick wished they’d just say Sunday. Maybe that would make it all seem a little (a lot) less ominous. He gave her a strained smile, watching her go until the male cleared his throat.

“My name is Pastor Harper,” he greeted. “I’ll be getting you ready. But you can call me Roy, if you like. I never liked those stiff titles.”

“There’s really no way out of this?” Dick asked weakly as he followed Roy into the large, grandiose chapel.

“I’m afraid not,” Roy replied, taking a seat on a plush cushion in front of the altar and gesturing for Dick to do the same.

“So what are we going to be doing in here?” Dick asked once he was comfortable.

“In here, I will tell you what you’ll be doing once you’re in the cave.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “I had thought the sacrifices were just sort of...dropped off and expected to figure things out from there.”

“In the beginning, long ago, that was very true,” Roy confirmed. “But we’ve learned through trial and error what the demon likes and dislikes.”

Dick shook his head. “What do you mean?”

“It took several centuries, but our people managed to read the hints the demons left on the bodies of Sacrifices, dictating what he expected. Either of them to look like or what he wanted them to wear.”

“I have to wear something special?” Dick asked quietly.

Roy gave a soft laugh. “More than that,” he said, though his eyes held pity behind the humor. “You’ll have to strip once you’re inside as well.”

Dick couldn’t help crying that time.

 

…………….

**Friday/Saturday**

 

They let him have Friday and Saturday to himself, which he was both grateful and not so grateful for. Of course, Saturday night he would go through The Cleansing, but he had the day to himself at least.

While he couldn’t go far or return to his family - foster, since his parents were long dead - they did let him wander the temple garden which, despite the silken robe that very clearly marked Dick as The Sacrifice, he found peaceful.

He was seated on the stone bench near the pond, eyes closed, when he felt someone sit beside him.

“So you're The Sacrifice this year, huh?”

Dick opened his eyes and turned to find himself face to face with a  _ very  _ attractive young man, dressed in a plane t-shirt, jeans, and combat boots.

“You’re not part of the Temple,” was the first thing that came to Dick’s mind.

The man with blue-green eyes and black hair hosting a shock of white in the front laughed loudly, throwing back his head and closing his eyes.

Dick felt a little chill go down his back when those eyes opened and met his again.

“Does it matter?” the man asked. “I live nearby and...well…” he gestured to the pure white robe Dick wore. “Kinda a dead give away.”

“Yeah, well, believe me,” Dick mumbled, looking away. “I never wanted this.”

“Why not?” the man asked. “I think it’s an honor to be Chosen.”

“Who are you?” Dick demanded, turning back to glare at the man.

“I never did introduce myself, did I?” he murmured. “My name is Jason.”

“Dick,” Dick replied quietly. “Not for much longer, of course.”

Jason frowned as Dick looked back out over the pond. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Tell me how many Sacrifices do?” Dick demanded, eyes brimming with tears as he glared up at Jason. “We’re all walking into our death and rejecting it, which we  _ can’t do _ , is considered treason!”

“You’re scared.”

“No shit I’m-” Dick’s voice cracked and his buried his face in his hands as he began to cry. Jason hesitated before gently pulling Dick into his side.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m sorry,” Dick whispered, even as tears continued to fall. “I’m sorry, I just...I just want to go home. I don’t  _ want  _ this! I’ve  _ never  _ wanted this! And now I’m being told I have to wear fucking pink panties and give the goddamn Demon a  _ strip  _ show?! No shit I’m fucking terrified!”

The two sat in silence until Dick pulled himself together. Gently, Jason cupped Dick’s face between his hands, prompting the other to look at him and brushing stray tears away with his thumbs.

“Dick, I want you to listen to me closely please,” Jason requested gently, stroking his thumbs over Dick’s cheeks. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Dick couldn’t object before Jason’s chapped lips were on his.

 

…………

 

Dick’s eyes flew open with a gasp and he looked around frantically, finding himself lying on his back in his chambers. When he sat up, he found Kori standing near the door.

“What happened?” he asked breathlessly.

“You were dreaming,” she said softly.

Dick shook his head. “I don't...I wasn’t…” he ran a hand through his wild hair. “What time is it?”

“Time for The Cleansing,” Kori replied gently.

Dick felt exhausted and confused as he got to his feet and followed her down the hall to the temple.


	2. The Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Day arrives at last and Dick is no more prepared than he was two days earlier.

**Sunday**

**The Day**

Dick woke up and immediately had to rush to the bathroom to heave and expel everything he had managed to choke down the night before.

That was where Kori found him; crumpled on the tile with one arm around the porcelain bowl.

“Dick?” she called softly, kneeling behind him and placing a hand on his back. “It’s time.”

He didn’t need the reminder.

 

………….

 

The entire carriage ride to the cave - some ancient tradition they had chosen to keep - Dick felt torn between dizzy, sick, and like he might pass out.

Roy - Pastor Harper, Dick told himself to say - had gone with him which was probably the only reassuring part about the whole nightmare.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“How do you think?” Dick asked weakly, hands clasped in his lap to hiding the shaking as he rested his sweaty forehead on the window, vision blurred as he gazed out at the countryside flying by.

“Richard,” Pastor Harper soothed, reaching over to place a hand on Dick’s knee. “You know that if I could take this burden from you, I would.”

“Why do people keep telling me that?” Dick demanded, turning his head to glare at the other, aggressively shifting his leg to get the man’s hand off his knee since the touch was making him feel like he was going to pass out. “No one can take this damn thing from me, so why the fuck are people saying that?”

“Dick-”

“Just be quiet,” Dick whispered, closing his eyes as a tear threatened to escape. “ _ Please. _ I just want it to be quiet.”

 

……………….

 

“You know what to do,” Pastor Harper told him as he escorted Dick to the mouth of the cave. “Everything is going to-”

“I swear to god, I will punch you in the throat if you finish that sentence,” Dick whispered.

A small smile ticked on Pastor Harper’s face. “Go in until you can barely see. Then-”

“Give him a strip show, yeah, I know,” Dick whispered, trying not to cry in case he smeared the mascara and eyeliner they had caked on to enhance his already bright blue eyes.

“Good luck,” Harper said, staying in the mouth of the cave as Dick slowly and tentatively walked forward.

 

……………….

 

“Stop when I can’t see,” Dick whispered to himself, glancing over his shoulder to find the mouth of the cave was no longer in sight. He was bathed in darkness and fully at the demon’s mercy. “Well...I can’t see.”

The cavern he stood in was damp and distantly he could hear dripping water that made him shiver, both in cold and fear. His feet were bare and the cold stone beneath them seemed to burn the skin.

Closing his eyes and taking a long slow breath, he reached shaking hands towards the sash around his waist, keeping the silken robe in place, underneath which he wore nothing but lacy pink panties.

He hoped the Demon was watching, just so he didn’t have to strip all over again. It was already cold enough, he didn’t want to go back and forth in putting the robe on and off again.

He’d just grabbed the ends and started to pull when large arms wrapped around him, warm hands clasped around his wrists to stop his movement. He choked back a scream which resulted in a loud, terrified gasp as he accidently rocked back into a large, warm chest.

Fuck, the demon was so much  _ bigger  _ than he was.

“Take it easy,” the demon purred, voice low and rumbling. Dick’s heart was pounding and he was starting to feel lightheaded and sick as he tried not to scream at the top of his lungs or break down crying which only resulted in him struggling to get out of the grip. “Just relax.”

He opened his mouth to try and beg the Demon not to kill him, but his legs gave out instead and he sagged against the Demon’s arms since his body decided to fall forward.

“Woah, woah, woah,” the Demon murmured, carefully pulling Dick back into his chest, the human’s head lolling back. “Shh, you’re alright.”

Dick was glad he blacked out. Maybe that meant he wouldn’t feel anything when the Demon finally killed him.

 

………………

 

When Dick finally managed to claw himself back to consciousness, his first thought was that he didn’t know where he was, the feeling against his skin far different from the last thing he recalled.

He felt like he was resting in a warm cloud, whatever was beneath him was soft and thick. The air wasn’t biting cold and was instead a gentle warmth that had his muscles relaxing. An even softer blanket of some sort was laid over him, pulling up to his shoulders as he lay curled on his side, hair spilling over his closed eyes.

Distantly, he felt like someone was nearby and so he let his eyes flutter open, taking a moment to register the cavern wall some feet away before slowly pushing himself into a seated position.

Behind him, he heard the whispered words, “He’s awake, go tell Bruce.”

Followed by, “Why can’t  _ you  _ tell him, Todd?”

“Because he knows  _ me _ , demon. Now  _ go _ !”

Dick closed his eyes once he was vertical, taking a few moments to breathe before hesitantly twisting to see who was behind him.

When he met the other’s gaze, he had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly.

“Jason?” he asked, voice hoarse.

“Take it easy,” Jason murmured as he picked up a glass of water that had been next to him, moving closer to Dick over the heaps and mounds of blankets and pillows that covered the cavern floor until he was seated next to the other. “Here, drink.”

Dick’s hands shook but he managed to keep the glass still as he chugged the water. It felt like heaven on his parched throat and he sighed softly, closing his eyes and letting Jason pull the glass out of his hands.

“How are you feeling?” Jason asked once Dick had opened his eyes again.

“Confused,” Dick replied softly. “W-why are you here?”

Jason smiled softly. “Why do you think?” he asked gently.

Dick frowned and shook his head, but when he opened his mouth to reply, everything clicked into place.

“You’re the demon,” he whispered, eyes going wide. He wanted desperately to crawl away but the blanket - which he now pulled up against his chest - was the only thing protecting his modesty.

“We’re not actually demons,” Jason corrected gently. “And I’m not the only one.”

But Dick wasn’t listening to him, scrambling to his feet and keeping the blanket wrapped around himself as he backed away.

“Oh god, you’re going to kill me,” he whispered, eyes wide as he began to panic. “Oh my god, I-”

“Dick,” Jason soothed, hands held up in a placating manner though he remained seated. “It’s alright, but I need you to calm down.”

“How the hell can I calm down wen you're going to kill me!?” Dick shrieked.

“Nobody is going to kill you, none of us are,” Jason soothed. “But I need you to relax. Please come sit down.”

“No, I’m getting out fo here!” Dick shouted. 

“Dick-”

But Dick didn’t listen, turning with the intent to take off running in some blind direction until he either fell off a cliff and died or found his way out.

He didn’t get more than two steps before he ran into someone else. Before he even had a chance to look up at the frankly  _ huge  _ person, their fingers were on his forehead and he was collapsing into their arms, vision going black as he lost consciousness again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!!


	3. Meet The Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick wakes up a second time and Jason finally explains things. (Some things).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two phrases made up of Latin, neither of which I'll be translating yet ; P
> 
> Just so you know, it's probably one hundred percent wrong, but eh that's okay.
> 
> Enjoy!

Dick was pretty sure that whatever calm he was feeling was artificial when he woke up the next time, this time lying on his back as he peeled his eyes open.

This time Jason was sitting closer, an unreadable expression on his face. “You shouldn’t have done that, Dick,” he said, though his voice sounded sad as opposed to upset. “You could have really hurt yourself. Your lucky Slade was there.”

Dick licked his dry lips, rolling his head in Jason’s direction and spotting another figure a few feet behind the ‘not-Demon’. The other man - Slade, Dick presumed - had long white hair and an eyepatch, muscular arms crossed over his chest as he watched the pair in silence.

“What are you?” Dick asked, turning his gaze back to Jason.

“Our species name is  _ Tentareculum Prodigium _ ,” Jason replied. “My family and I have lived in this cave for thousands of years. We never hurt anyone, despite what our name suggests.”

Dick frowned. “What does your name suggest?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Jason replied.

Dick didn’t like that answer but he knew he wasn’t going to get anything else. “Why did you come see me on Saturday?” he asked before frowning. “Did...you come see me on Saturday?”

“Yes,” Jason replied, wincing. “I didn’t want to have to knock you out, but you were panicking.”

“I wasn’t-”

“He removed your memory of that part,” Slade chimed in. “It’s part of  _ his  _ special ability. Along with rendering someone unconscious.”

“Special ability?” Dick asked.

“Slade’s is keeping the subject calm,” Jason explained. “And mine is memory and consciousness control.”

“Oh.” Dick was silent for a bit. “You said your family...but you and Slade don’t look anything alike.”

Jason laughed, the sound echoing around the large cavern. “Slade’s not family, not biologically,” he replied. “He’s technically our security, though he’s also Bruce’s mate. He’s also the only one who isn’t  _ Tentareculum Prodigium _ .”

“What is he?”

“ _ Longus Proelia Linguae Bestia,”  _ Jason replied. “Why Bruce would pick one of his kind to mate with, I’m not entirely sure.”

“Bruce,” Dick said softly. “I heard you talking to someone when I woke up the first time. He called you Todd. Was that-”

“My little brother, Damian,” Jason explained. “He and Tim will be back in here sooner or later to meet you.”

“Meet me?” Dick asked. “Why? Is it some special ritual to kill The Sacrifice? It takes all of you to slit my throat?”

Fuck the artificial calm for not letting him freak out more.

Jason sighed. “We’ve never killed a sacrifice, Dick.”

“Then why have they all shown up dead?” Dick demanded hotly as he pushed himself to a seated position. He was trying to be angry. He  _ wanted  _ to be angry. But he couldn’t. It was like there was some perpetual blanket of calm over his mind that, no matter how hard he tried to kick free, he couldn’t get rid of.

“After…” Jason pressed his lips together, trying to figure out the best way to word what he wanted to say. “There  _ is _ a sort of ritual we preform with The Sacrifice-”

“I knew it,” Dick whispered.

Jason ignored him and went on. “And sometimes...once they get to the end...it’s too much.”

Dick pulled the blanket a little closer as a feeling of trepidation filled him. “What do you mean?”

“They go into shock, of a sort,” Jason explained gently. “And they don’t usually survive. We do all we can but that is, admittedly, not much.”

“So I’m going to die, just not because you kill me?” Dick asked weakly. 

“We don’t like to think that way,” Jason told him. “Maybe you’ll be stronger than the others. Maybe you’ll survive.”

“That’s unlikely,” Dick mumbled.

Jason nodded in agreement. “But the fact of the matter is that we don’t know what’s going to happen so the best choice is to hope.”

Dick didn’t get a chance to reply before the sound of footsteps suddenly echoed around the cavern and two young boys made their appearance, headed towards Jason and Dick.

“Dick, these are my brothers,” Jason introduced as the boys arrived and sat on the padded floor on either side of Jason. “This is Damian and this is Tim.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dick,” the one on Jason’s left - Tim - said with a smile. 

Dick nodded. To anyone else he probably would have said something polite but the fact was they were soon going to be preforming some sort of ritual where he might not survive and as such, he couldn’t bring himself to be polite.

“Sure,” he said instead.

Tim didn’t seem to be fazed in the slightest as he gestured over to Damian who was on Jason’s right.

“This is Damian.”

Damian clicked his tongue, looking Dick over in a way that made the acrobat feel  _ very  _ exposed. It lasted a few more seconds until Damian looked at Jason and Dick felt like he could breathe again.

“Father says the ritual is to begin at sundown,” he recited. “He advises that you show The Sacrifice his quarters before noon as he’ll need the hour before bed to get ready.”

“Before bed?” Dick asked, drawing the three brothers’ attention. “I thought it was four in the morning.”

“We have a different sleep schedule than you do,” Jason explained. “Which we’d like you to get on as well-”

“Assuming you survive,” Damian declared bluntly, shooting a glare at Jason when the older elbowed him in the side.

“We go to sleep around one PM and then we wake up around Midnight,” Jason explained. “There’s next to no natural light in the cave except in the cavern with the spring so there’s nothing to bother us when we’re trying to sleep.”

“How do you know what time it is then?” Dikc asked.

“Slade knows,” Tim replied. “He keeps track of it.”

“So he’s like…a butler, kind of,” Dick said, shooting a hesitant look in Slade’s direction, though the older didn’t react short of tilting his head in Dick’s direction. Whether that was confirmation or not, Dick wasn’t sure he wanted to press on it.

“What time is it now?” Jason asked, twisting around to glance at Slade.

“Ten AM,” Slade replied without hesitation.

“Wait, what?” Dick asked. “How is it...it was  _ four _ in the morning!”

“When you initially lost consciousness from panic after I retrieved you,” Slade began. “You were out for about four hours. When you tried to escape and I calmed your fear, it was too much too fast and you were out for two hours.”

“Oh,” Dick said quietly.

“Since there’s two hours until we need to start getting you ready for the ritual, I can show you around a bit,” Jason offered, getting to his feet and holding out a hand for Dick.

“I’m not wearing anything,” Dick whispered, pulling the blanket closer. He blinked when Slade was suddenly at Jason’s side, handing Dick the silk robe he’d arrived in.

“Thank you, Slade,” Jason told him as he took it and wrapped it around Dick’s shoulders. “Do you want us to turn around while you put it on?”

Dick shook his head. “I have a feeling you’ve already seen everything anyway.”

No one confirmed it but Dick didn’t need them to. After all, he’d passed out in the robe and woke up without it so it wasn’t hard to figure things out.

Once he’d pulled it back on, tying the sash and getting to his feet, Jason smiled.

“I can show you the bedroom last. Tim, Damian, and I sleep together and Bruce and Slade sleep together in a separate room.”

“Who is Bruce?” Dick asked as he followed Jason out of the room while the other three trailed some feet behind.

“Our father,” Jason replied. “Well, ‘father’ is used loosely. Tim and I were adopted but Damian is his ‘blood son’ as the brat likes to say.”

“Watch yourself, Todd,” Damian snarled.

Jason only laughed.

 

…………………….

 

The bed chamber that the three brothers shared was similar to the room Dick woke up in. There were individual chambers branching off from the main one, each with a silken curtain hanging in the doorway.

“We all have our own private bedchambers and baths,” Jason explained when they finally as he guided Dick to sit in the large padded area in the middle of the floor that was slightly lower than the rest of the floor. “But usually we sleep in here together.”

“Which is where you’ll be staying until we get your chambers made,” Tim replied. Dick liked him a little more than Damian, if only because Tim didn’t even acknowledge the fact that Dick might not survive the coming ritual. “After that, it’ll be up to you to sleep wherever you want.”

Dick only nodded before blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “You have a lot of silk.”

There was a beat of silence before Tim and Jason laughed while Damian merely looked at Dick like he was stupid.

“Of course,” he drawled. “Why shouldn’t we pleasure ourselves with whatever suits our fancy?”

“What Damian is  _ trying  _ to say,” Jason chimed in with a small smile on his face. “Is silk is very comfortable to sleep on.”

“Oh,” Dick said, nodding. He looked around the resplendent cavern for a few moments, speaking without meaning to. “You almost can’t tell it’s a cave.”

“It’s what we tried for when we designed it,” Tim explained. “Mostly to make The Sacrifice comfortable when they come.”

“How many got to see this?” Dick asked quietly.

No one answered him.

 

………………..

 

They all turned when they heard footsteps and found Slade standing in the doorway of the cavern.

“It’s noon,” he said before slipping away again.

“What happens now?” Dick asked as Tim, Damian, and Jason stood in  _ fucking unison. _

“Now, we get you ready,” Jason replied, taking Dick’s hands and helping him to his feet before guiding him out of the cavern without letting go of his hand.

“How?” Dick asked softly.

“Getting rid of that robe, for starters,” Damian drawled.

“Ignore him,” Jason told Dick, pulling the acrobat closer. “He’s always like this. When the ritual starts, he’s going to be very gentle.”

“What’s going to happen during the ritual?” Dick asked softly as he was led into another cavern with a large, steaming pool some feet away, bright sunlight shining down from a skylight high above.

_ This must be the spring Jason mentioned earlier.  _

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Jason told him as he guided Dick to sit on a padded seat, turning the acrobat towards the large mirror on the wall that showed Dick his entire body.

He looked horrible. 

The red lipstick he’d been wearing was smeared and the black mascara had run down his cheeks. His hair was wild and tangled and his eyes were red rimmed, skin pale.

He gasped and jumped when Jason pressed a warm, wet towel to his cheek. “Sorry,” Jason said softly as he began wiping away the makeup from Dick’s face. “Should have warned you.”

“No, it’s…” Dick let himself relax under the ministrations, unintentionally leaning into Jason when the other moved closer. “This isn’t at all what I thought being sacrificed was going to be like.”

“I imagine not,” Jason agreed. “Close your eyes.”

Dick did as he was told, shivering as the cloth brushed over his closed lids, wiping away all the makeup they’d put on him at two that morning. Having had to get up so early, he was beyond exhausted. He was even sure he might have fallen asleep because when he peeled his eyes open again, his hair was brushed and all the makeup was off.

“Come on,” Jason prompted. “Let’s head back to the bedroom, curl up and get some rest. The ritual starts at sundown, around eight. We all need to be well rested for it.”

Dick was tempted to ask if he’d ever meet Bruce as they made their way back to the bedchambers but he felt too tired and drained to form words.

He allowed Jason to guide him into the sunken set of pillows and blankets, letting the other lay him down before Jason lay close and pulled a silken sheet over Dick’s form.

“Get some rest,” Jason said softly. “You’ll need it. Slade will wake us up when it’s time.”

Dick was out a second later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be sure to let me know your thoughts as they let me know that people are actually reading this and are interested in the next chapter!


	4. The Ritual

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's time," Jason murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter with the ritual which means there is rape/non-con in this chapter. 
> 
> If you don't want to read that or it might be triggering, don't read this chapter.
> 
> Good luck

He woke up to a warm hand carding through his hair and he peeled his eyes open to find Jason sitting up next to him.

“It’s time,” Jason murmured, helping Dick to his feet.

“I don’t know what to do,” Dick said quietly as Jason helped him back onto the main floor of the chambers, guiding him over to one of the private rooms, bathed in red and black silk with candles lit throughout.

“Do you trust me?” Jason asked, though there was something in his voice, his eyes, that seemed to say that Dick wasn’t going to trust him soon enough.

The acrobat swallowed thickly, nodding.

“You’ll start with Damian,” Jason said, helping Dick out of the white silk robe so he was bared to the room in the bright pink panties.

“Jason, I don’t understand what’s going on.” Dick was getting scared now.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Jason soothed before he slipped through the red curtain and vanished.

 

…………………..

**BEFORE**

“Where have you been, Todd?” Damian demanded as Jason strolled into the throne room.

Jason ignored him in favor of walking up to stand in front of Bruce who was seated on his throne with Slade standing at his side.

“I met this year’s Sacrifice,” he said.

“Really?” Tim asked, setting his tablet down. “What are they like? Are they hot?”

“Hot isn’t a good word to describe him,” Jason replied. “Beautiful is better. Very pretty.”

“I look forward to meeting him at the ritual,” Bruce said in his usual gruff tone. “Did you learn anything about him?”

“He’s scared,” Jason replied. “Absolutely petrified. He doesn’t...he doesn’t want this.”

Silence fell across the cavern until Bruce shifted and turned to look up at Slade. “You’re going to be retrieving him tomorrow morning?”

“I will,” Slade confirmed. “Is there anything different I should do?”

“Stop him before he strips,” Bruce advised. “We don’t want him to be any more uncomfortable than he already is. Be _gentle_.”

Slade hummed. “Yes sir.”

 

……………..

** NOW **

Dick was trying very hard not to tremble and shake as he stood in what he’d concluded were Damian’s private chambers. Jason had told him the boy would be gentle during the ritual but fuck if Dick believed that.

Damian had been nothing but cruel towards Dick since he woke up so Dick had a hard time seeing him as anything but malicious.

“Do you prefer Dick or Richard?”

He flinched _violently_ and whipped his head in the direction of the bathroom to find Damian standing there, the light spilling in from behind to create a dark silhouette.

“I...what?”

“Todd has been calling you _Dick_ ,” Damian explained as he walked fully into the room and - oh god, he was _naked_. Dick’s face flushed as he quickly averted his gaze. “But I’m not a fan. May I call you Richard?”

“Um...I-I guess,” Dick stammered, head still turned towards the ceiling. He suddenly felt Damian’s presence in front of him and quickly closed his eyes. “D-do you have to be naked?” he whispered.

Damian clicked his tongue, taking a blissful step out of Dick’s personal space. “Has Todd told you nothing of what is going to transpire tonight?”

Dick shook his head, eyes still closed. “Nope,” he replied, popping the p.

Damian huffed. “Foolish,” he whispered before wrapping his warm, slender fingers around Dick’s wrist. “Come. Lay on your back on the bed.”

Dick did as he was told, shaking picking up a notch as he finally opened his eyes.

“What’s going to happen?” Dick whispered, tears filling his eyes as Damian rounded the bed to stand at the end.

“Relax,” Damian replied. “It will hurt less if you relax.”

Now Dick was scared. He fought down the urge to sob as Damian got on the bed between his legs, hooking tanned fingers under the waistband of the panties before pulling them off.

It was pretty damn clear now what was going to happen. He couldn’t help but begin to openly cry as his legs were easily slung over Damian’s shoulders and the other male pressed himself close to Dick.

“I need you to relax, Richard,” Damian murmured, stroking his warm hand over Dick’s trembling thigh. “Please. I don’t want to hurt you.”

Dick shook his head with a sob, unable to crawl away due to the hands Damian had on his hips.

“Please,” Dick sobbed, hands tugging uselessly at Damian’s wrists. “Please, please, please _stop!”_

“Richard, I don’t want to hurt you,” Damian soothed, stroking his thumbs over Dick’s hipbones. “And I really don’t want to hurt you but that’s what’s going to happen if you keep struggling. If you just relax, this will hurt so much less.”

Dick whimpered and even though he hated this _so much_ , he knew Damian was right. So, faced with little to no other options, Dick let himself go limp, closing his eyes and turning his head away.

Damian sighed softly, stroking his thumb over Dick’s hip again. “There’s something I should to tell you before we begin.”

 _We haven’t already begun!?_ Dick thought deliriously as he peeled his eyes open and looked up at Damian through tears, only for his eyes to go wide in shock.

“My species name is _Tentareculum Prodigium_ ,” Damian told him. “Which translates very closely to ‘tentacle monster’.”

And yeah, Dick could kind of fucking tell just from the ten black tentacles looming over Damian’s back. If Dick wasn’t breathless with fear, he’d probably scream.

“Are they going in me?” he asked hoarsely, drawing his hands up to his chest as if to shield himself.

“Not completely,” Damian replied. “They will be providing extra support once we get farther along.”

Dick wasn’t sure what that meant though he got an answer to the statement of ‘not completely’ a second later when something cold and slick pressed against his entranced and he gasp, unintentionally clenching down on the blunt thing forcing its way inside.

Damian shivered and bit down a moan while Dick tried _so hard_ not to sob or panic. He shivered and gasp when something cold and wet was suddenly secreted from the tentacle inside of him, coating his insides with what fell like jelly.

“Now they won’t be inside you,” Damian murmured, shifting closer until the head of his cock pressed against Dick’s now lubricated hole. “Just relax.”

Dick bit his lip and choked down a whimper which turned into a sob when Damian’s cock slowly slipped in, spearing Dick open steadily until the acrobat was sobbing in discomfort.

“Shh, shh,” Damian soothed as two tentacles wrapped gently around Dick’s thighs to keep his legs in place while Damian moved his hands to cup Dick’s face, finally seated balls deep into the acrobat. “Shh, it’s alright. We’ll just sit here and relax a bit, okay?”

Dick nodded, reaching shaking hands up to wipe away his tears. “I h-have to do this with everyone else?”

Damian’s expression was gentle. “I’m afraid so,” he replied. “But I promise, it will get easier.”

Dick wasn’t sure whether to believe him or not.

 

…………….

 

He wasn’t sure how long they lay there until one of Damian’s ten tentacles brushed over his cheeks, drawing his attention.

“I’m going to move now,” Damian said softly. “I promise, it will feel better soon.”

Dick pressed his lips together and nodded, letting out a sharp breath when Damian slowly pulled out almost all the way before pushing back in, slowly getting faster and faster.

When he hit _something_ inside of Dick, the acrobat saw stars and threw his head back with a groan as sudden _pleasure_ sparked in his belly.

“See?” Damian asked as his thrust became so much faster as he hit Dick’s special spot each and every time. “You can come whenever you need to, okay?”

Dick nodded breathlessly, hands gripping Damain’s tightly as he tentatively began lifting his hips to meet each of Damian’s thrusts, moaning and gasping as sparks flew behind his eyes.

A moment later he came and came _hard_ , shuddering through an orgasm that was intense enough that he never felt Damian lean down and sink his teeth into the acrobat’s shoulder _hard_.

He floated long enough that he barely registered Damian pulling out and come dripping from his hole. What finally drew him back was an arm under his knees and shoulders, lifting him up.

He groaned softly, peeling his eyes open in time to see Tim whisking him out of the room and into the next chambers. Oh. Right. He had to go through that all over again.

Right after the first.

He couldn’t help the whimper that slipped out when he was laid down on Tim’s bed.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Tim soothed, brushing Dick’s hair off of his sweat soaked forehead. “We have a few minutes before we have to do anything. I can give you a little time to rest.”

“Water, please?” Dick begged. His limbs felt like jelly and considering that Damian was only the first one, he couldn’t imagine how he was going to feel when it was over.

“Oh, yeah, of course,” Tim replied, cursing under his breath as he rushed to the ensuite bathroom and returned with a glass of water, gently helping Dick into a seated position and holding the glass for him while Dick drank his fill.

“Thank you,” Dick said quietly. “Is it...just the same thing with you?”

“Same thing with me, yes,” Tim replied. “But I won’t bring the tentacles out if you don’t want me to.”

“W-why did Damian’s come out?”

“He needed to lubricate you or else it was really going to hurt,” Tim replied. “But since you’ve still got Damian’s come inside of you, I don’t need to do that. I’ll slip in right away. I _am_ a little bigger than Damian was though.”

“How’s it going to work then?” Dick asked quietly, eyes half lidded as he watched Tim strip. “I-I mean what happens after here?”

After folding his clothes away, Tim walked over and took a seat on the edge of the bed, looking over Dick’s sweat soaked and glowing skin for a few moments before answering.

“Jason gets you next, same thing as me and Damian except his bigger than we are,” he began. “Once Jason is done, Slade will come and take you to Bruce.”

Bruce. Dick had heard the name tossed around a lot, knew it was their father. But the idea of meeting the man and having to let the man _fuck_ him was a little intimidaitng.

“Bruce is going to be a lto different,” Tim went on. “You’ll be on your stomach instead of your back and he’ll have his tentacles out. He has about ten more than we do since he’s older.”

“He’s also a lot bigger than you are,” Dick guessed.

Tim nodded. “Yeah.”

“What happens after Bruce?”

“That’s where we’re going to be blind,” Tim replied gently. “That’s when the past Sacrifices have...gone into shock.”

“And then they don’t recover,” Dick said softly.

“Dick, I honestly believe you're going to survive,” Tim assured, placing a hand on Dick’s shoulder.

“How?”

“Because you are coherent and talking to me right now,” Tim replied. “Most aren’t.”

Dick was quiet. “Can we please get started?” he requested meekly. “I just want to get it over with.”

Tim gave him a soft smile, squeezing Dick’s shoulder. “I’ll be as gentle as possible.”

 

…………….

 

Dick blacked out before he came and came to to find Jason leaning over him with worry in his eyes.

“Dick, hey,” he murmured, tapping Dick’s cheek when the acrobat’s eyes fluttered closed. “No, come on, stay awake for me. I need you to talk to me, please Dick. Saying something.”

Puling his eyes open felt like lifting two hundred pound weights and Jason’s form above him was blurry and unfocused. He swallowed once, twice, opening and closing his mouth before finally deciding that no, he wasn’t going to be able to force his voice to cooperate.

He was at least able to let out a little kitten mewl whimper as Jason hauled him into a seated position, pressing the cool, wet rim of a glass to Dick’s lips.

“Come on, Dick,” Jason soothed, tucking Dick into his side as he tried to prompt the acrobat to drink the water. “I know it’s really hard but you really need to drink this for me, please.”

Jason sounded like he was underwater and Dick found himself having a lot of trouble figuring out what was being asked of him. He felt like he was floating. Like if jason wasn’t careful Dick would just float away and never come back.

He did, eventually, managed to choke down some of the water though most of it he ended up coughing back up.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Jason murmured as he gently lowered Dick to the bed though his forearms remained under the acrobat’s shoulder blades as Jason’s cock pressed against Dick’s leaking entrance. “We’re out of time. We have to keep this on a schedule. Please, god Dick, stay with us.”

 

……………..

 

Dick felt like he was in the ocean, consciousness coming and fading like waves. One moment he was on the bed with Jason between his legs, the next he was held in powerful arms with someone angry talking nearby.

“Fuck, Bruce get this over with as fast as possible because we are losing him and I _refuse_ to lose another sacrifice! If you kill him, I swear to god I will not speak to you for the next four centuries and you can kill the next four hundred sacrifices all on your own.”

The last thing Dick registered before a wave of darkness drew him down once more was soft, thick mattress beneath his bare chest and something warm pressed to his back, holding him down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	5. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick wakes up after the ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go guys!

Dick’s entire body ached when he woke again. His limbs trembled and his head ached, mouth dry. Even the  _ thought  _ of opening his eyes brought tears at the idea of how hard it was going to be.

“Don’t move.”

If Dick had had any strength left, he would have flinched. As it was, his eyes only fluttered beneath the closed lids. He felt like he should recognize the voice but he couldn’t place it.

It was a man’s voice. Or a young-

“You almost died. I thought...god, Dick, it’s amazing you’re still breathing.”

Jason, Dick’s sluggish mind finally supplied. That’s Jason.

“Jason,” he said breathlessly, head rolling in the other’s direction.

“Just relax,” Jason said. “You still need to regain your strength. You...you almost…” the room, wherever it may be, fell quiet until Jason felt like talking again. “Bruce rolled you onto your side once he was finished and you...you didn’t react. Your eyes were open but you weren’t seeing anything. Your breathing...you were wheezing. Your chest was heaving, we really thought your lungs were going to give out.”

Jason seemed really worried but all Dick could focus on was the fact that he’d finally managed to peel his eyes open, finding himself in what looked like a hospital bed with the rails up on either side, Jason on his right.

“Oh thank fuck,” Jason whispered when he caught Dick’s dazed gaze. “How are you feeling?”

Well, his throat and chest hurt, that was for sure. “Thirsty,” he managed to reply. “Tired.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Jason said, glancing at someone on the other side of Dick, making some gesture that meant nothing to the acrobat before looking back down on him with a small smile. “Congratulations.”

Dick frowned. “Why?” he asked, even though it hurt his throat and mouth.

“Because you survived,” Jason told him, reaching out to brush Dick’s sweat soaked hair off of his forehead. “We are officially in uncharted territory.”

Dick pressed his chapped lips together before startling when an arm reached over him, handing Jason a bottle of water.

When Dick turned his head in the other direction, he saw Slade returning to his place against the wall some ways away.

“Is he always around?” Dick asked as Jason carefully inclined the bed so that Dick was in a slightly reclined position as opposed to lying flat on his back.

“More or less, yes,” Jason replied. “He’s protection.”

“Protection?” Dick repeated. It was getting harder to talk and he really just wanted water but he also wanted to know what Jason meant. “Does he really think I’ll hurt any of you? Or that I  _ can  _ hurt you?”

“Not protection from  _ you _ ,” Jason explained. “But from  _ us _ .”

 

……………….

 

After helping Dick drink his fill of the water and making sure he was comfortable, Jason left Dick to rest.

The acrobat had wanted Jason to stay so he could ask him if the ritual had worked, but he’d ended up all but passing out as soon as Jaosn left him be. When he regained consciousness later, his legs and neck felt sore and he wasn’t alone.

“Are you feeling up to moving?” Slade asked from where he stood next to Dick’s bedside.

“That depends,” Dick replied honestly. “Where are we going?”

“The boys are in the spring,” Slade replied. “Jason requested I escort you there for a bath.”

Yeah, Dick could see why. The skin on his thighs and belly felt sticky and gross, not to mention between his legs.

“Okay,” he agreed, carefully sitting up with help from Slade’s large, warm hand on his back. It was only when he swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood that he stumbled, having to grip onto Slade’s arm to keep himself upright.

Because there was  _ something  _ inside him.

“W-what-”

“They needed to get you here as soon as possible,” Slade replied, handing Dick a robe to wrap himself in, just to make the acrobat feel more comfortable even though he was about to get into a warm spring with three other naked men. “The plug was necessary both to keep their home clean and to ensure you didn’t wake up covered in everything.”

Dick nodded and the two made their way down high ceilinged hallways until Dick finally cleared his throat and spoke.

“Did the ritual work?” he couldn’t imagine having to go through all of that again if it hadn’t. He wasn’t even sure he’d survive going through the ritual a second time.

“It worked,” Slade confirmed. “But I’ll let them tell you more about what comes next.”

Dick nodded. He had mostly wanted to spend the walk to the springs in his own mind. 

The walk wasn’t terribly long but by the time Dick reached the spring, he just wanted to lay down and sleep for months.

“Dick,” Jason called, standing and pulling himself out of the spring, muscles rippling and dripping with water as he padded over to the two. “How are you feeling?”

Dick swallowed thickly and forced himself to keep his gaze on Jason’s face and away from his very naked body even though, logically, Dick knew he’d seen Jason naked before.

“Dirty,” Dick replied honestly as he pulled the robe off, trying to ignore the fact that, behind Jason, he could see Damian sitting in Tim’s lap.

“Then let’s get you cleaned up,” Jason offered, placing a gentle hand on Dick’s back to steer him over to the table that held stacks of fluffy white towels. “First, let’s get the, uh, plug out.”

“Please,” Dick requested softly, bracing his hands on the table and closing his eyes when he felt Jason’s hand between his legs.

“It might be a little uncomfortable,” Jason warned as he reached up and began gently working the plug out of Dick’s puffy, swollen hole. A small gush of come followed the plug when he finally got it out but it mostly caked Dick as opposed to the floor.

“Is it out?” Dick asked, eyes closed tightly.

“Yeah, it’s out,” Jason soothed gently, brushing his hand over Dick’s lower back as the acrobat straightened up and followed him over to the spring, taking Jason’s hands and allowing himself to be guided into the deep warm waters.

The acrobat shivered but relaxed in the warmth, allowing Jason to lead him over to what seemed to be some sort of bench under the water, sitting down and pulling Dick down as well to curl up next to him.

“Here’s a washcloth,” Jason said, soaping it up before handing it to Dick who was thankful that Tim and Damian seemed distracted with one another. Or they were just politely not staring at him. Either way, the acrobat was thankful for it.

“Thank you,” Dick told him, face burning as he began to wipe away the dried come coating his skin. Cleaning out his insides was going to be a lot harder and he was more or less thankful when Jason spoke up.

“There’s an easier way to clean up...uh...inside.” he winced. “But if you don’t want to go with it, you can do it however you like.”

Dick didn’t get a chance to reply before the doors to the spring room were flying open and a man taller than Jason but a hair shorter than Slade strolled in.

He was completely exposed and Dick forced his gaze to stay on the man’s face, noting the black hair and bright blue eyes that found Dick’s instantly.

“I’m glad to see you awake, Richard,” he said as he walked over to pull Slade into a quick kiss before walking into the spring and taking a seat across from Dick and Jason. “How are you feeling?”

“Still sore,” Dick replied, glad he had finished cleaning himself off because this man seemed very content to stare at him.

The man hummed, a small smile appearing on his face. “You don’t know who I am.”

“I can use context clues to assume you’re Bruce,” Dick replied softly. “But I...don’t remember seeing you. I’m sorry.”

“I expect as much,” Bruce replied. “Jason said you weren’t tracking particularly well when they switched you from Tim to him.”

“You blacked out before Tim was done with you,” Jason said gently.

“I didn’t try to,” Dick told them.

“There’s no need to feel bad, Richard,” Bruce told him, laying his arms along the edge of the spring bath and leaning back. “Most sacrifices weren’t coherent with Jason.”

“I was awake though,” Dick said quietly. “I remember Jason talking to me but I just...didn’t care.” he looked over at Jason with a frown. “You sounded worried.”

“I was,” Jason replied. “You...you’re different, Dick. from the others. I felt like this time...if you died your death would be my fault. The others...logically, I  _ know  _ it wouldn’t have been my fault but I feel like I know you better than I ever knew the others.”

“Oh,” Dick said softly. The five of them sat in the warm spring for a few moments in silence until Dick tentatively lifted his gaze towards Bruce. “Um...sir?”

Bruce opened one eye and looked at Dick. “You can call me Bruce, Richard,” he told him with a gentle smile. “Did you have a question?”

“I was just…” Dick shifted, feeling very exposed under Bruce’s gaze despite the jet created bubbles that he knew blocked his body from any eyes. “I was just wondering what’s going to happen next.”

Bruce hummed, sitting up and letting his arms drop into the water. “Well, now that you’ve survived the ritual, you have two options.”

Dick swallowed thickly, nodding. “Okay?”

“You can either leave and return home,” Bruce began. “Or you can stay and, in a few weeks, we can begin the Bonding Ceremony.”

“Bonding Ceremony?” Dick asked quietly.

“Making you immortal,” Jason explained. “You would stay with us forever.”

“But if I wanted to go home…” Dick said slowly. “That’s an option?”

“Of course,” Bruce replied. “I know it might seem pointless to you, coming all this way and risking your life for a seemingly useless ritual but if you want to go home, you may.”

“What  _ was  _ the point of the ritual?”

“Think of it as something that keeps us alive,” Tim replied. “It’s horrible but it’s how our species has had to survive for years.”

“People are going to ask questions,” Dick said quietly. “What do I tell them?”

“That you don’t remember,” Jason replied. “We’ll move you while you're asleep. A drug induced unconsciousness, just so it seems more genuine for your people. So tell them you don’t remember anything. That you blacked out as soon as you walked into the cave and the next thing you know, yu’re waking up.”

“But I could really go home?” Dick asked desperately. The ritual (rape, really, as loathe as he was to think of it like that) would even be worth it if it meant he could go home and put this whole sacrificial nightmare behind himself.

“If that’s what you really want, then you can go home as soon as you’re cleaned up,” Bruce replied. “You just have to drink something that will put you to sleep. When you wake up, you’ll likely be in Gotham General or on your way.”

Dick pressed his lips together, desperation in his eyes as he whispered. “I just want to go home.”

Bruce nodded. “In that case, let’s get ourselves ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry. He'll be back.
> 
> Just...not exactly of his own free will, let's say
> 
> >:)


	6. Back Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick wakes up in an ambulance and after a bumpy start, slowly begins readjusting to normal life.
> 
> But the supernatural life isn't done with him just yet

Dick peeled his eyes open and was greeted by bright blinding lights and what felt like the swaying of a vehicle.

“He’s awake,” a voice said nearby a moment before another brighter light was shining into his eyes.

A keen of pain was drawn from his throat and he turned his head away, finding himself in the back of an ambulance.

“You’re alright,” the EMT soothed as he slipped the penlight into his shirt pocket. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Richard Grayson,” Dick replied, letting himself enjoy the warmth of the heated blanket over his chilled skin. “My foster parents are Amy and Marcus Fisher.”

“I’ll make sure they’re contacted as soon as you're settled in Gotham General,” the EMT told him. “What's the last thing you remember?”

_ Choking down a sour tasting drink that I knew damn well was drugged.  _ Dick thought to himself, though he didn’t say it.

“I was this year’s Sacrifice,” he did say instead. “I remember walking into the cave and then...it all went dark. I thought I blacked out, but...how long has it been?” Dick really actually didn’t know. 

“Almost a week since you’ve been Chosen,” the EMT replied. “How do you feel?”

“Tired,” Dick replied honestly. “I just want to go home.”

“You’ll have to stay at the hospital for a few days, but your family will be able to visit,” the EMTs told him. “I have a few questions I want to ask you before that though. Do you think you’re up for it?”

“Yeah,” Dick replied, trying to wake himself up more to better answer the questions.

 

……………

 

Dick didn’t cry until his foster parents rushed into his room and as soon as he saw them, he burst into tears.

“Oh god, Dick,” Amy whispered, taking a seat on the side of his hospital bed and pulling him close. “I thought we’d never see you again.”

Dick was crying too hard to say anything, burying his face in her neck as he sobbed. Through his shaking, he felt Marcus place a hand on his back, rubbing gently.

“You’re okay,” Amy said softly, stroking a hand over Dick’s back. “You’re alright.”

“They bit you.”

Dick lifted his head from Amy’s neck, wiping away his tears and looking up at Marcus with a frown.

“What?” he asked.

Marcus gestured to Dick’s neck. “You’re covered in bite marks. They looked bad.”

Dick lifted a tentative hand to his neck, running his fingers over the marks and frowning when he pulled his hand back to find dried blood on his fingers. 

He didn’t remember them  _ biting  _ him.

Then again...he didn’t remember much of anything from the ritual.

“I...I don’t know,” he whispered.

“I’ll go get the nurse,” Marcus offered, placing a reassuring hand on Dick’s shoulder. Dick smiled up at him and watched him leave. Despite the fact that Dick had lived with the couple since his parents had died, Marcus had never been very good at close contact or emotional stuff.

But he had still always been there and was actually the reason Dick had been in college to major in criminal justice.

As soon as Marcus was gone, Amy’s hands were on his cheeks, looking him over with concern in her eyes.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” she asked. “Did they hurt you?”

“I don’t remember anything,” Dick told her quietly. “Really.”

“Baby, they  _ bit _ you,” Amy replied.

“I don’t even remember that,” Dick said softly. “I can’t...remember anything.”

At least part of that was the truth. Amy sighed but gave him a gentle smile. “I’m just glad to have you back,” she said. “You’re the first Sacrifice to survive, I…”

“I know,” Dick said quietly. “I’m really glad too.”

 

……………….

 

It couldn’t be easy. Dick couldn’t just flow back into society and everything go back to normal. No, because he was the first Sacrifice to survive in thousands of years, he ended up spending a week in prison since the people in charge of Gotham’s Sacrifice were fully convinced he’d cheated his way out.

It didn’t matter what he said, they were one hundred percent convinced that he had turned and walked out of the cave because why else would he not remember anything?

But he was eventually released when his lawyer brought up the point that, “if Mr. Grayson had run off, why has the demon not attacked?”

So they let him go with a condolence check and the promise that he could take all the time he needed to adjust back into society.

 

…………..

 

“Richard Grayson, right?”

Dick had been walking down the sidewalk on his way home from an evening walk - he still hadn’t returned to school yet, having been given time to adjust after getting out of prison - so he was slightly startled to look up and find a young woman in his path.

“How do you know me?” he asked.

She smiled. “You were this year’s Sacrifice,” she reminded him. “I doubt there’s anyone in this City who doesn’t know you.”

Everyone in the City knew his name, but most didn’t know his face. And this woman gave off a familiar aura that Dick couldn’t place and it made him uneasy.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “Who are you?”

“My name is Thalia Al Ghul.”

“Sounds like you’re not from this country,” Dick said without thinking, eyes going wide. “I didn’t mean that!”

“It’s perfectly fine,” she assured hm with a smile. “You’re not wrong. Tell me...how is Damian?”

Dick froze. “What?”

“And Bruce, I suppose I should ask after,” Thalia mused. “They  _ are  _ still the ‘demons’ your people get Sacrificed to, right?”

Dick felt himself go pale as he backed up and was stopped by two men who easily grabbed his arms and held him in place.

“I-I don’t remember anything,” he stammered.

Thalia hummed. “Too bad,” she whispered. “But don’t worry. I have ways of making you talk.”

That was the last thing Dick heard before something sharp was jammed into his neck and everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	7. Find Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week since Dick left...a week since he was taken by Thalia...

Chapter Seven

**ONE WEEK LATER**

 

Damian’s proclamation of “Mother?!” drew everyone’s attention to where Thalia Al Ghul was strolling into the throne room.

“Hello Beloved,” she told Bruce with a smile. “How are you? How did your ritual go? That time of year just passed by, didn’t it?”

“It did,” Bruce answered, expression and voice giving nothing away. “It went fine.”

“Really?” Thalia asked. “Because...I saw your Sacrifice walking through the city a few days ago and last I checked, all the others died after the ritual.”

“He was stronger than the others,” Jason chimed in.

“Oh, I know,” Thalia purred. “He’s certainly held up well over the last week.”

Everyone froze. “What?” Tim finally asked. “What are you talking about?”

“I’ve never gotten a chance to speak with a Sacrifice as they’ve all been dead after the ritual,” Thalia replied. “But this one? This one is strong. Claims he doesn’t know  _ anything  _ about what you’re doing here.”

“He doesn’t,” Bruce declared. “Let him go.”

“Beloved, he’s my only connection to you,” Thalia purred. “The only chance I might have to find out why you left our Nest.”

“He left cause you’re crazy!” Jason chimed in.

Thalia sighed. “And you’re certain the Sacrifice knows nothing?”

“Yes,” Bruce stressed.

“Very well,” Thalia said wit a sigh. “He’ll be released this evening.”

She turned and strolled away. As soon as she was gone, Jason was on his feet. “We follow her,” he declared. “She won’t release Dick, she’ll kill him. She’ll torture him until his heart gives out.”

Damian huffed, even as everyone else began to file out of the room. “Why do you care so much, Todd?”

Tim answered before Jason even had a chance. “Is Dick...your Chosen?”

Jason pressed his lips together. “Yes,” he finally whispered. “He’s my Chosen.”

 

………………

 

Dick’s scream tapered off into a cough as the tentacle finally withdrew from the knife wound in his thigh and he was left sobbing where he hung from his wrists from the rafters of a dark, wet warehouse.

“Please,” he shouted, desperation lacing his tone. “Please, I don’t know anything, I  _ swear _ !”

From the darkness, Thalia sighed before stepping into his line of sight. “At this point, I’m almost inclined to believe you,” she murmured. “Let me guess, they just drew you in with gentle words and touches before flipping you over and fucking you under pretense of ritual?”

As scared out of his mind as he was, Dick had enough sense of mind to be confused. “I don’t understand,” he said through heaving gasps for breaths.

“Of course you don't,” Thalia crooned, running one of her tentacles down Dick’s jawline, drawing a pained shiver from the acrobat. “Because Bruce just  _ loves  _ playing hero. Loves making himself seem ike the good guy.”

Dick shook his head, weakly gripping the chains he hung from as he watched Thalia warily.

“I still don’t understand,” he said. “B-Bruce said the ritual was-”

“Important to their life?” Thalia asked. “He’s a fool. Humans are fragile and unnecessary for the ritual. Hundreds of years ago, before your people discovered them, Bruce would just fuck his mate to survive.”

“Why did he change then?” Dick asked quietly. “If...if humans are...fragile, why move to them?”

“He got addicted, I suppose,” Thalia mused, letting one hand trail down Dick’s chest to rest on his hip, stroking her thumb over the bone. “See...human bones are so easily breakable. I suppose he enjoyed that feeling of power, knowing with just the right amount of pressure, your kind will shatter under his hand.”

Dick felt the tentacle winding around his ankle a half second before his vision whited out in pure agony. He was pretty sure he screamed and pretty sure he blacked out because when he finally managed to peel his eyes open, sight obscured by tears, Thalia was seated farther away, no longer standing in his place.

“And...his kids?” Dick rasped, breathless. “W-why do they-”

“They don’t know any different,” Thalia replied. She was silent for a moment before getting to her feet and walking back over to Dick, stroking her hand down his cheek. “You know...I  _ was  _ just going to kill you...but I wonder...my father might be very interested in you.”

Dick shuddered. “W-why?” he asked. “There’s nothing interesting about me.”

“Isn’t there?” Thalia asked. “You survived the ritual, something no other Sacrifice has ever done. My father would be interested in...taking you apart and finding how you tick.  _ I _ certainly am interested.” she hummed. “He might even want to preform the ritual on you himself, find out just what it is that Beloved sees in you.”

She left Dick with those thoughts and as soon as she was out of sight, he burst into tears of fear and agony. In however long he’d been there, there was one thought in the back of his head that he refused to let himself dwell on, but now that he was faced with the possibility of going through the ritual again, that thought came to light.

This was all a trap. The only reason bruce let him go was so Thalia could take and torture him. And then, just as Dick would be about to die, Bruce and the others would rush in and save the day.

That idea had lasted up until now, making Dick think that maybe they weren’t coming. Maybe they didn’t care. Maybe it was like Bruce had said, the ritual was just important for their survival. Jason had seemed to have some fascination with Dick, but obviously not enough to save him.

 

……………………..

 

Thalia froze, staring at the dark shadows in the long hallway before smiling. “What brings you here, Jason?”

“Don’t play dumb,” Jason snarled as he stalked towards her, rage in his eyes. “You know damn well why I’m here.”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” Thalia replied. “But I can guess.” she grinned. “The Sacrifice, perhaps?”

“Where is he?” Jason demanded.

“Where I left him.”

Jason snarled, reaching forward to grab Thalia by the throat. “If he’s dead,” he whispered. “You’re going to regret it.”

“He’s not dead,” Thalia assured. “Though I’m sure he wishes he were.”

Jason was seconds from ripping her throat off when Bruce stepped forward, prying the younger’s hand from Thalia’s neck.

“Go to Dick,” he murmured. “Let me handle her. Go to him.”

Jason pressed his lips together before nodding and rushing off down the hall, one thought on a loop in his mind.

_ Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. Don’t be dead. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!!!


	8. Something Intimate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason rushes to Dick and he and his brother's finally explain everything

The door opening roused Dick to consciousness but he kept his eyes closed. It had to be her, probably here to kill him. But he wouldn’t go down without a fight. She was probably strong enough to rip him apart, but he still readied himself to aim a solid kick to her gut when she got close enough.

As soon as he felt a hand on his cheek, he lashed out, catching her in the gut with his good leg. When he opened his eyes though-

“Jason?” He mumbled, watching Jason pull himself upright with a groan, one hand on his stomach.

“Geez, Dick,” Jason muttered as he walked over, looking Dick over with an intense gaze. “Good kick.”

“I thought you were her,” Dick mumbled, wincing when Jason reached up to  _ snap _ the chains holding Dick up. He cried out as soon as he went down, weight landing on his broken ankle for a second.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Jason whispered, cradling Dick close and trying to keep weight off of his broken ankle, noting the knife wound in the same thigh. “Sorry, I didn’t know. Shit, Dick, what did she do to you?”

“Said human bones were more fragile than yours,” Dick mumbled, letting his head drop onto Jason’s shoulder as the other gently swept him up. “Wanted to prove it.”

“God, Dick, I’m so sorry,” Jason murmured as he gently carried Dick out of the room, glad that Bruce and Thalia were no longer in the hallway. “If we knew she was going to go after you, we never would have let you go.”

Dick frowned. “She said Bruce got addicted to the feeling of human bones below his hands,” he said. “She said humans aren’t even needed for the ritual but he doesn’t anyway.”

“Dick-”

“You  _ hurt  _ me, Jason,” Dick pointed out, closing his eyes. Too tired to keep them open anymore. “All of you. You didn’t explain  _ anything _ -”

“Dick-”

“Why should I trust you?” Dick demanded, glaring up at Jason with tears in his eyes. “Why should I trust anything about you?”

Jason moved over to the bench along the wall with a sigh, gently setting Dick down before kneeling in front of the other.

“Listen to me,” he said firmly. “ _ Please _ .”

“Why?” Dick snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and wincing at the pain in his shoulders. “So you can keep  _ lying  _ to me?!”

“You’re my Chosen, Dick.”

Dick paused. “What does that mean?”

Jason sighed, dropping his forehead to Dick’s knee, taking a few moments to breath before lifting his head and beginning to explain.

“You were more than just chosen by your city, Dick,” he said desperately. “You were Chosen by me.”

Dick frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s...complicated,” Jason said. “Tim is better at explaining.”

At that moment, Tim and Damian appeared from the shadows, approaching the two, having heard the conversation.

“Our species imprints, sort of,” Tim began to explain, moving to stand beside Jason. “Our term is ‘Chosen’ but human terms say soulmates.”

“You have soulmates?”

Tim nodded. “Damian is mine, Slade is Bruce’s, and you-”

“Are mine,” Jason said, gazing up at Dick and reaching forward to clasp the human’s hands in his own. “If you know anything about imprinting, then you know we’re not in control of that. It was instinct that led me to you that first day we met, Dick. In the temple garden. You’re my Chosen. My soulmate.”

“Losing you,” Damian said. “Would shatter him.”

“I would die of loneliness,” Jason explained with a small smile. 

“Even if you hadn’t met me?” Dick asked.

“No,” Jason said. “Nothing would have happened if we never met. But we have-”

“Oh, great, so if you die it’s  _ my  _ fault!” Dick shouted, ripping his hands out of Jason’s grasp and crossing his arms over his chest. He glared at the three. “So now you’re going to tell me that I have to come back with you for my own good?”

Tim and Damian shared glances. “Thalia is still alive,” Tim explained. “Bruce won’t kill her. She’s developed a fascination for you. If you go back to society, she’ll just keep going after you until her father arrives to take you.”

Dick swallowed thickly. “She said her father would preform the ritual on me,” he said quietly. “The same as the one...you guys did?”

“Yes,” Jason replied. “But her father is far more powerful than we are. His ritual would be so much worse. That one, you would not survive.”

Dick felt like crying. “I don’t want to go back with you,” he said quietly. “I want to go home.”

“If you go home,” Damian said softly. “She’ll come back. Next time, she might kill your parents.”

“Why?” Dick demanded. “They haven’t done anything to her.”

“Neither did you,” Jason reminded ihm.

“Bruce said if I stayed we would do the Bonding thing,” Dick said after a moment. “What is that?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Jason insisted. “ _ Unless  _ you...want to be my Chosen.”

“You’ll die if I’m not your Chosen, right?” Dick asked.

Jason shook his head. “Only if you leave forever or die.”

“Or die,” Dick muttered. “That’s nice.”

“Please, Dick, come back with us,” Jason begged. “Let us keep you safe.”

“Jason is your Chosen,” Tim said again. “That is mutual, regardless of if you believe in soulmates. Surely you feel  _ something  _ intimate for him?”

Dick did not reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!!


	9. A Heart To Heart With Slade and Dick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Slade is bandaging Dick's wounds, he and the other share some words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some more probably totally wrong latin!!!
> 
> Also!!! I have a Tumblr!
> 
> https://richardgraysonpercyjackson.tumblr.com
> 
> Check it out! I try to post updates regarding this story if It's going to be late! Also feel free to pop over and ask questions about it!
> 
> I'd love to talk!!
> 
> Now onto the story!!!!

They were back at the cave and Jason had reluctantly retreated with the others, leaving Dick’s wounds to be tended to by Slade.

“Do you know anything about this soulmate bullshit?” Dick asked after a few minutes of silence. 

“Of course,” Slade replied. “I am Bruce’s.”

“His Chosen,” Dick muttered. “And I’m Jason’s. He fucking  _ imprinted  _ on me.”

“He wasn’t in control.” Slade cast Dick a knowing look. “It was instinct. And it works two ways.”

“Which means?”

“Surely you feel something for Jason.”

Dick crossed his arms over his chest, replying without hesitation. “Irritation.”

Slade barked a laugh, shaking his head as he returned to bandaging the wound in the other’s thigh.

“Something more,” he corrected. “Either intimately or romantically.”

“He manipulated and raped me,” Dick snarled. “Some soul-shit imprinting isn’t going to change that.”

“Oh no, I completely agree,” Slade told him, nodding. 

Dick hesitated. “Anything said here stays between us, right?”

“Of course.”

Dick bit his lip, uneasy, before finally giving in. “Did Bruce send Thalia after me? She...she told me-”

“If you trust me than trust that most everything that that woman says is a lie,” Slade declared. “Bruce didn’t send Thalia after you. He wouldn’t.”

“Why? Who is she?”

“Damian’s mother,” Slade replied. “An old flame of Bruce’s.”

“But not his Chosen?”

“No.” Slade began putting his things away as he explained. “She developed an unhealthy fascination with him as she is one of the few of Bruce’s species who are cursed with  _ Inanis solitudinem _ . Which means she will never have a Chosen. As a result, she went after Bruce. She spent years going after me, going after anything he had touched in an effort to feel  _ anything _ .”

“So that’s why she went after me?” Dick asked softly. “Because I had been...touched by Bruce?”

“Yes,” Slade replied, turning around. “I’m afraid she may have developed a fascination with you as well now.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She had you for a week,” Slade replied softly. “She kept you alive, even though she knew you had no information for her.”

“So what now?” Dick asked. “I-I can’t stay here! What about my family? Is she going to go after them too?”

He was pretty sure he was about to break down crying but he was also pretty sure he deserved it.

He was also one hundred percent sure it was due to whatever pain meds Slade had given him before working on his injuries. Like  _ fuck _ , bro, those were strong!

“Bruce won’t kill Thalia if that’s what you’re thinking,” Slade said, turning back around to face him. “And if you go back out there, she will take you and you will never see your family again.”

Tears filled Dick’s eyes. “I never even got to say goodbye,” he whispered. “They’re going to think I’m dead.”

Slade was silent for a moment. “Not necessarily.”

“Yes, they are.”

Slade sighed, walking over to lean his hip against the cot Dick was seated on, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Several years ago, Bruce met a magic user who had the ability to create clones. Almost perfect copies of someone. They only person they don’t work with would be the person’s Chosen-”

“Convenient,” Dick grumbled. 

“But I could ask Bruce to contact the man, have him create a clone of you to send back home to your parents.”

“Wouldn’t that just end us up in this same damn situation as we’re in now?” Dick snapped. “With Thalia taking the clone?”

“She won’t,” Slade assured him. “Because she’ll recognize the difference. That small difference between you and the clone, the one that doesn’t affect your Chosen, is the part she’ll know is different.”

“So then she'll come get me.”

“She won’t. She’s outnumbered here and she knows it. Especially if she comes with the intent to hurt one of our family.”

Dick growled and grabbed Slade by the front of his shirt, dragging him close and knowing that the only reason he could move the other was because Slade let him.

“Let’s get one thing clear,” he hissed, rage burning in his eyes. “I am  _ not  _ part of your fucked up family, do you understand me?”

Slade hummed, unfazed by Dick’s anger. “You became a part of this family the moment Jason realized you were his Chosen,” Slade said calmly.

Dick narrowed his eyes. “You’re a fucking son of a bitch, you know that?” he hissed. “God, I was so stupid to think I could trust you.”

“You can,” Slade assured him, leaning back when Dick released his shirt. 

Dick shook his head. “They set you up to this, didn’t they?” he asked. “Set you up to push me into a corner where I have no other choice but to stay here.”

Slade didn’t reply. Dick wanted to scream. He wanted to throw himself off the cot and just fucking run. Never stopping until he ran out of breath.

A little difficult with a broken ankle.

“They can give you anything you could ever want, Richard,” Slade said softly. “Jason is your Chosen. He will do  _ anything  _ for you, as long as you're happy.”

Dick hesitated as an idea came to mind. “What about the others?”

Slade grinned, already sensing where Dick was going with his train of thought. “What do you have in mind?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!


	10. Give Me A Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick demands Jason come clean. About everything.
> 
> Bruce reveals something interesting to Slade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even more probably wrong Latin!

Jason turned and leapt to his feet when Dick entered the throne room.

“Dick-” He said, rushing over and frowning when his Chosen shifted away from his touch, casting Slade a glance as the other glided to stand behind Bruce’s seat.

“We need to talk, Jason,” Dick said firmly. He glanced at the others, getting a nod from Slade before looking back at Jason. “Privately. Please.”

“Yeah, of course,” Jason replied. “We can talk in my room.” he looked down at Dick’s broken ankle. “Can you walk?”

“You’ll have to help me.”

Jason nodded eagerly.

 

………………..

 

Dick decided to stay standing, despite the discomfort it brought his ankle. It at least made him feel stronger than Jason and that faux confidence was what he needed for this conversation.

“Is everything okay?”

“No, Jason, everything is not okay,” Dick replied. “And if you still think I’ll brush off what you did to me, then you’re crazier than I thought.”

Jason pressed his lips together as he took a seat on the bed. “Okay,” he said. “I guess that’s what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“No,” Dick corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. “Obviously, I’m stuck here. I’m in a corner with no other choices. If I go back out, Thalia takes me or kills my family.” he took a moment to think. “I need a reason to not choose….suicide over staying here.”

Jason stared at him in horror. “You’d really prefer to kill yourself than-”

“It beats being raped every few months, yeah,” Dick replied dryly. “ _ However _ , maybe you could...convince me.”

“Of course,” Jason whispered. “I’ll do anything. Bruce, Tim, Damian, we’ll all do  _ anything _ . You survived, Dick, you’re my Chosen. You’re part-”

“Of your family already, yes, I know,” Dick cut him off quickly. “I got it, thanks. I just don’t give a shit.”

Jason sighed. “Okay, I deserve that,” he muttered. “I hurt you.” he ducked his head for a moment before looking back up at Dick. “What can I do?”

“Give me reasons to stay, for one,” Dick replied, placing his hands on his hips. “Explain everything to me for another. No more of this secrecy bullshit. If you’re going to rape me and say it’s for a ritual, I’d like to know first.”

Jason nodded eagerly. “I will, Dick, you have my word. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Okay so here’s my first question.” he took another breath, suddenly beyond tired. His ankle was sore and he knew he was going to want to just sit in one place until it healed. Slade had told him that the medication he’d given Dick would help heal it ten times faster than the normal human rate but it still hurt.

Dick liked Slade.

“Does Bruce really need humans for the ritual?” Dick asked quietly. “And why does it kill them?”

Jason nodded. “It kills them because it’s four rounds of sex back to back to back. You...you don’t remember with Bruce, do you?”

“I blacked out with Tim,” Dick replied.

Jason nodded. “The ritual takes some of a human’s life force. It’s why most of them die. It’s too much.”

“But I was your Chosen so you tried to keep me alive,” Dick said. “But you let the others die.”

“We’re immortal,” Jason said slowly, knowing Dick wasn’t going to like his next words. “Humans are like ants to us. You only really stand out when there’s something different about you. In your case, being my Chosen.”

“You know that makes you sound like a real dick, right?”

Jason gave a weak chuckle, shaking his head. “I know,” he said quietly.

“And you still never answered my other question.”

“Which was?”

“Does Bruce need humans?”

Jason sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted honestly. “I came into the picture after that all started.”

“Okay, I have another question but let me put it aside right now,” Dick muttered. “Moving on, is Damian Bruce’s only biological child?”

“Yes.”

“Then who are you and Tim? How did he...acquire you?”

Jason nodded as if he’d expected the question. “Bruce found me when he was abroad with Slade,” he began to explain. “Years and years ago. Ethiopia, I think. I was sick and starving. He and Slade helped keep me alive until they got back here in time for that year’s sacrifice.”

“And he never told-” Dick held up his hands. “It can wait,” he decided, closing his eyes as he forced himself to stay calm. “Tell me about Tim.”

Jason chuckled softly. “Tim found us,” he replied. “Sort of. He’d been living among the humans for years and was brought in as a Sacrifice.”

“But you found out what he was before the ritual.”

“Yes.”

Dick nodded. “New question. The one I kept cutting myself off with.”

“Yeah?”

“You, Bruce, Tim, and Damian are all of the same species,” Dick said slowly. “Correct?”

“Yes.”

Dick pressed his lips together as he leaned close to Jason and whispered, “Then how the fuck can you not know if Bruce needs only humans to survive when you two are the same damn thing?”

 

……………..

 

“He’s angry, isn’t he?” Bruce asked as he and Slade lay in bed, his head resting on the other’s chest while Slade stroked his fingers over Bruce’s back.

“And he has every right to be,” Slade replied. “He was taken from his home to be used as a Sacrifice. He was assaulted and when he was told he could go back because he survived, he was taken by your ex.”

“And now he has to stay here,” Bruce muttered.

“No he doesn’t,” Slade said. “You know that, Bruce. He can go home. Nothing’s going to happen to him. Thalia will back off.”

“Did you tell him?”

Slade sighed. “I lied,” he admitted. “Said staying here was his only option.”

“Good.”

“What is your fascination with him?” Slade demanded. “It’s more than just him being Jason’s Chosen. Hell, this is more than just him being the first Sacrifice to survive.” he froze. “You're comparing him to Emily.”

“She was the only one to survive,” Bruce replied. “So was he. There’s a connection between the two, I know it. It’s in their blood.”

“Emily survived because she was a  _ Corrupitque _ ,” Slade told him calmly. “They died out years ago.”

“And Richard could be the first one in centuries,” Bruce insisted. “Why else would Thalia go after him? This has nothing to do with him surviving. This is about some dormant component of his blood that he doesn’t even know about.”

“If what you’re proposing is true,” Slade mused. “And if he truly is the first _Corrupitque_ __in centuries , then it has _everything_ to do with him surviving.”

“It means he’s in more danger than we thought.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I did intentionally not answer Dick's question.
> 
> Because I'm a dick.
> 
> Let me know your thoughts!


	11. Chosen, The Pull, The Bonding Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim steps up on behalf of Jason to explain everything to Dick.
> 
> Jason and Tim start questioning if Bruce has been lying to them about the ritual. And if he has, how did they not know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning. Dick talks about preferring death or preferring to kill himself over staying with them.
> 
> Just a warning!!!
> 
> enjoy!!

Dick was thankful when they finished making his private bedroom, if only because it meant he finally had a place to escape to to be alone.

He was curled up in bed, half asleep with his back to the doorway when he heard a quiet knock. Sighing softly, he rolled over and pushed himself upright.

“Yes?”

Tim stepped in and he let out a soft sigh a relief, glad it wasn’t Jason.

It wasn’t that he hated Jason, but…

It wasn’t that he hated Jason.

“How are you doing?” Tim asked.

“Well as can be expected,” Dick replied, scooting closer to the head of the bed so Tim could sit down. “What did you need?”

“I was wondering if Jason had explained anything to you?” Tim asked. “About being each other’s Chosens. Or about the Bonding Ceremony.”

“No, he hasn’t mentioned either,” Dick replied, frowning. “Is it bad?”

“Not at all,” Tim answered. “I just thought you deserved answers.”

Dick nodded. “Thank you,” he said. And he meant it. “Where is Jason, anyway?”

“Bruce wanted to talk to him about something,” Tim replied. He frowned. “Were you sleeping when I knocked?”

“No, not at all,” Dick lied.

Tim nodded. “Alright,” he said. “What do you want to know first?”

“Being his Chosen, I guess,” Dick replied. “I mean...how did he know?”

“When someone is your Chosen,” Tim began. “they...I don’t want to say they look different. But they have a sort of...there’s this thing we feel...” he gave a weak laugh. “I know none of this makes sense. I’ve never had to explain it.”

“Just go through it,” Dick told him. “I’m sure I’ll catch on. I’m smarter than people give me credit for.”

Tim nodded. “So when we encounter our Chosen for the first time, in your case that would be when Jason met you in the garden of the temple, we feel what we call a Pull. It’s like...almost like butterflies in your stomach. It’s just this sensation of pure joy. It happens the moment we set eyes on our mate. We just... _ know _ .”

“And that’s why Jason talked to me, right?” Dick asked.

“Exactly,” Tim confirmed. “Now, you happened a little differently. You’re also the first human mate anyone in our family has had. Normally, the Bonding Ceremony is preformed instantly. But since you’re human and-”

“Fragile,” Dick supplied. “Go on.”

Tim winced. “Yeah. So what’s going to happen is Jason has to give you three...we’ll call them gifts. Things to prompt you to want to go through the Bonding Ceremony with him.”

“What happens in the Ceremony?”

“It’s...similar to the ritual,” Tim said with a wince. “But it’s just you and Jason and much more intense. When you come out of it, your souls are bound to one another for eternity.”

“But I’ll die one day.”

Tim shook his head. “Hypothetically, if you go through with this, then during the Ceremony you will have to consume three vials of a golden liquid called  _ Immortalitatis Auream.  _ After which and after the Ceremony, you would need to remain in very close proximity to Jason for three days and three nights.”

“And then what happens?”

“And then you’re immortal,” Tim replied. “There are, of course, things that can kill us such as starvation and being stabbed in the head.

“Ex _cuse_ _me?!”_

Tim waved off his concern. “It hasn’t happened in thousands of years and no one really knows that way exists anymore. You’ll be fine.”

“This is all hypothetical.”

“Yeah, yeah, of course,” Tim assured, nodding.

Dick was quiet for a moment. “What happens to Jason if I don’t want to go through with the Bonding Ceremony?”

“Nothing,” Tim replied. “It’s if you left him or declared to him that...that you didn’t reciprocate his feelings that there would be problems.”

“He’d die.”

“Yeah.” 

Dick nodded. “I don’t...I don’t want to be immortal,” he confessed to Tim. “I don’t want to live here forever.”

“Dick-”

“You want to know what’s keeping me going every day now?” he asked. “The thought that I’ll die one day and finally escape.”

Tim pressed his lips together. “It’s really not that bad,” he told him quietly.

“This is all you’ve ever known,” Dick hissed. “You have been one of these...these  _ things  _ all your life! Tell me, have your ever had tentacles and another man’s cock shoved up your ass under pretense of a ritual that they’ll die without?”

Tim’s expression remained calm, even as he shook his head. “I know it’s hard to see right now,” he said quietly. “But you’re special, Dick. There’s a  _ reason  _ you survived.”

“Yeah,” Dick snapped. “Cause God hates me.”

“Dick-”

“I’m tired, Tim,” Dick said firmly. “I want to be left alone. Please.”

Tim sighed softly but nodded and got to his feet. “Get some rest,” he told Dick before slipping out of the other’s room.

 

………………

 

“Well?” Jason asked as Tim walked into the older’s room. “Did you talk to him?”

“Not like you couldn’t have, but yeah, I did,” Tim replied, flopping down on Jason’s bed. “Explained the whole Chosen thing and explained the Bonding Ceremony.”

“And what did he say?”

Tim sighed. “Jason...I’m a little worried about him. I think we need to make sure someone keeps an eye on him most of the time for the next few days.”

Jason swallowed thickly. “Why?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”

“He’d rather die,” tim replied.

“Then what?”

“Then have anything to do with us,” Tim answered. “But...maybe he has a reason to. No. No, there’s no  _ maybe.  _ He  _ has  _ a reason to hate us. To want to get away. We  _ hurt  _ him, Jason. We abused him.”

“I wish we hadn't,” Jason said quietly. He suddenly frowned. “He asked me an interesting question earlier.”

“Which was?”

“He asked if Bruce needed humans for the ritual and I told him I wasn’t sure.”

“Yeah,” Tim replied. 

“Then he said…” Jason pressed his lips together. “He asked how Bruce and I could be the same species yet I don’t know if humans are needed for our kind to stay alive.”

Tim frowned. “I...don’t know either.”

Jason nodded slowly. “And that’s odd, isn’t it?” he aksed Tim. “That we’ve just been going through this ritual with humans, taking Bruce’s word that we need them to survive. How did you survive before you came to us?”

“Not by ritual sacrifice,” Tim answered easily. “Do you think Bruce is lying to us?”

“If he’s lying about the ritual, then what else is he lying about?” Jason demanded.

“What do you propose?”

“Keep Dick away from Bruce at all times,” Jason replied. “At least until we find out the truth.”

“If Bruce  _ is  _ lying,” Tim said slowly. “And we don’t need humans to survive...then how did we not know? We’re the same species as he is, how do we not know?”

“Trust me,” Jason said darkly. “He hurt my Chosen. I intend to find out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!!


	12. What's Happening To Him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick's been there a week...

He’d been there for a week and he hated himself for actually growing used to it. Waking up under the silken sheets had become his norm. Accepting his food from Tim or Jason had become casual.

Joining Jason in the cave library and sitting shoulder to shoulder, reading, had become something he found himself looking forward to.

He hated it.

But he couldn’t bring himself to be angry.

With that thought in mind, he cornered Slade at the beginning of the second week. “Are you forcing me to be calm?” he demanded, arms crossed over his chest.

Slade raised an eyebrow. “Not at all,” he replied. “I’ve been occupied with Bruce.”

Dick frowned. He hadn’t even realized he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Bruce or Slade for the past week.

“Oh,” he said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. No harm done,” Slade assured him with a smile. “Did you need something?”

“No,” Dick replied. “Nothing.”

Slade nodded, obviously not believing him. “You do seem calmer though,” he acknowledged. “Less angry.”

“Better to just accept my situation than ruin my life with rage, right?” Dick bluffed. “I was wondering where I could find Jason.”

“The library, likely,” Slade replied. “Do you need help getting there from here?”

Dick did. The cave was like a labyrinth. One week in and he still got lost.

 

……………

 

“You okay?” Jason asked after he and Dick had been reading in the library for some hours.

“Fine,” Dick replied, giving Jason and smile and hating himself when he realized it was mostly genuine. “I...enjoy your company.”

Another close truth.

“That’s...good,” Jason said slowly. “I enjoy yours too. I was uh...well, I wondered if…”

“Yes?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I was wondering if you wanted to spend more time together...in one of our rooms,” Jason tentatively suggested. “I mean, it’s more comfortable than these couches. More…”

“Private?” Dick supplied.

Jason’s face flushed and Dick felt a little flutter in his stomach in reply. “Yes?”

“We’d still read, I presume?” Dick asked, wondering at the feeling in his stomach as he added, “Or were you thinking of something more adult rated?”

Jason gave a weak chuckle but his red face gave away the truth. “Reading can be adult rated,” he mumbled pathetically.

_ What is wrong with you?!  _ Dick screamed at himself as he got to his feet. “I agree, the bedroom would be more comfortable,” he told Jason who nearly tripped over himself to get to his feet too.

“Yours or mine?” Jason asked. He answered before Dick could. “Yours.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Alright then. Mine.”

 

……………..

 

“Can I ask another question about your species?” Dick asked after they’d ben curled on his bed, tucked into one another's side, reading quietly.

“Of course,” Jason replied eagerly, setting his book aside to look down at Dick.

“Do your kind only have one Chosen in their life time?” Dick asked. He fought to ignore the feeling of insecurity growing in his belly.

“Yes,” Jason replied. “There might be a rare occasion though. I know Bruce used to have a human Chosen a long time ago. Long before Slade became his Chosen.”

“Okay,” Dick said, nodding slowly. He found himself unable to look away, suddenly. Entranced by Jason’s eyes.

He didn’t fight as Jason surged forward and pressed their lips together. Instead, he pressed into the kiss and gripped Jason’s shoulders.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Jason whispered, one hand tangled in the hair in the back of Dick’s head, tugging lightly. “You have no idea how badly I want you, Dick.”

“Mmm…” that was all Dick was able to reply with. At this point, his cock was mostly in control of his actions. “Less talk please.”

Jason swallowed thickly. “Dick, I need to know,” he whispered. “How far do you want this to go?”

Dick barely heard himself as he replied, “All the way.”

Jason grinned. “Good.”

 

……………..

 

Dick fought so hard to keep a look of horror and disgust off his face as he wrapped the silken bed sheet around himself, hiding his come coated skin as he sat on the edge of the bed and watched Jason get dressed, wincing when he felt come leaking out of his hole.

“Are you okay?” Jason asked, buttoning his jeans and walking over to kneel in front of Dick. “I mean...that was amazing, but are you okay? A week ago-”

“That was a week ago,” Dick told him, even though he wanted to cry. “It’s different now.”

And it was. They’d had sex, even though Dick was starting to question now if he’d really wanted it or if he’d felt like he had to give in to what Jason had said.

He’d said he wanted to take it all the way, but...did he really?

Nothing was ever going to be the same now. He’d all but told Jason he wanted to be his Chosen, starting with his question and ending with letting the other shove his cock up Dick’s ass.

How long did he have before Jason requested they go through with the Bonding Ceremony?

What was happening to him?

“Did you hear me?”

Dick blinked up at Jason who was standing now, concern shining in his blue-green eyes.

“No, sorry,” Dick replied. “I was thinking.”

“That’s alright,” Jason said with a smile. He seemed brighter now and Dick hated himself. He didn’t  _ want  _ to be Jason’s Chosen...did he?

He’d led him on...had he?

He didn’t want to be immortal...didn’t he?

“I offered to let you sleep with me in my room,” Jason said carefully, as though afraid that Dick would reject him, even after what was probably the most intense round of sex Dick had ever had.

The ritual didn’t count.

“Maybe,” Dick replied, giving a weak smile.

Jason nodded. “Well, you’re always welcome,” he assured. His smile slipped off his face. “Can I...ask a personal question?”

Dick nodded. “It’s only fair,” he told him.

“B-before the ritual,” Jason said slowly. “Had you ever...was that your first time? Having sex?”

_Yes_. “No,” Dick lied. “I’ve had a few girlfriends and boyfriends before. It wasn’t the first time.”

It was. 

Definitely a first time Dick would never forget.

“Good,” Jason said, looking like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “I was worried. I can’t imagine what that would do to someone’s mental state if it was their first experience.”

_ I can. _

“Don’t worry about it,” Dick told him. “It’s okay.”

_ It’s not! _

“Good,” Jason said again. He looked uncomfortable now. “I’ll...uh...let you get dressed. Or take a bath, if you want.”

Oh, he would be taking a bath. Or ten. He was definitely planning to scrub himself until his skin was pink and sensitive.

As soon as Jason was gone, Dick burst into tears.

What was  _ happening  _ to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!


	13. Talk In Private

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce wakes Dick in the middle of the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for attempted rape in this chapter

“Dick?”

Dick groaned, peeling his eyes open and squinting in the darkness to find Bruce hovering over him.

“Yes?” he asked, pushing himself up and accepting the robe the other handed him with a frown. “Is something wrong?”

“I know it’s late,” Bruce said quietly, taking Dick’s hand and guiding him out of the room and through twists and turn, keeping hold of his hand as though he was a child. “But I wanted to talk with you. Privately.”

“Where are we going?”

“On a walk,” Bruce replied. “There are woods nearby that are well hidden. No one will know we’re there.”

Dick felt uneasy, even more so when he tried to tug his hand out of Bruce’s grip and found the man’s hold unwavering.

“M-maybe Jason could go with us?” Dick asked, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. “Just in case something happens.”

“I won’t let anyone hurt you, Dick,” Bruec assured him.

_ It’s not anyone I’m afraid of _ . Dick thought as they stepped into the cold night air and Bruce began pulling him towards the line of trees.  _ It’s you. _

“Jason explained being his Chosen, I presume?” Bruce asked. “The Bonding Ceremony?”

“Uh, Tim did,” Dick replied. “I-I really don’t understand why we have to talk all the way out here.”

“No one to interrupt us.”

_ Oh god.  _ Dick thought, eyes going wide.  _ He’s going to kill me! _

“Bruce, I really don’t think-”

He was cut off with a choked gasp as Bruce grabbed him around the throat, pinning him to the tree. Dick gagged and flailed, kicking his legs and fighting to free himself.

“You’re so much like her,” Bruce whispered. “I felt it. In the ritual. It’s why you survived, I know it. You have her eyes. Her blood.”

Dick whimpered, clawing and Bruce’s wrist. The man’s grip wasn’t choking. He could still breathe. But no matter how hard he kicked and struggled, Bruce refused to release him.

“Please,” he begged, eyes wide with fear. “Let go!”

“I had hoped that you’d…” Bruce pressed his lips together. “When Jason told us you were his Chosen, I was happy. He’s wanted one for so long. But then you started questioning things. Making Jason question things. Tim and Damian too. Turning my children against me.”

Dick froze. “You mean...about the ritual?” he asked weakly.

“We were perfectly happy before you,” Bruce told him. “Jason was  _ fine. We  _ were fine. But now you’ve come along, leading Jason and Tim on. Making them question the true purpose of the ritual.”

Dick’s eyes went wide. “You don’t really need humans.”

Bruce’s hold tightened and Dick whimpered. “You are Jason’s Chosen,” Bruce said calmly. “Which means I can’t kill you without killing him.”

“And you care about him, right?” Dick asked. “Y-you won’t-”

“I won’t kill you,” Bruce assured, throwing Dick to the ground but quickly pinning him with a foot to his back. “But I have to know. You have  _ her  _ blood, I know it.”

“Oh god,” Dick whispered as he turned his head enough to see Bruce in his peripheral vision, eyes going wide as the other began to strip.

“If you really want to stay alive,” Bruce told him calmly. “There needs to be some changes. Starting with your obedience.”

“No, no, no!” Dick pleaded, adrenaline flooding his veins and Bruce flipped him over and ripped his clothes off, pinning him with tentacles and spreading his legs wide. “Let go! Let me go!”

“Keep screaming,” Bruce hissed, the threat clear in his voice as he leaned over Dick. “I dare you.”

Dick whimpered, shaking his head frantically. “Just let me go,  _ please _ !” he begged. “Please, I’m sorry!”

“I’m sorry,” Bruce whispered. “I am. But I have to be sure. I will do anything to have her back again.”

“Stop!”

Bruce froze and he and Dick whipped their heads to find Slade moving swiftly towards them, rage burning in his eyes. Surprise froze Bruce enough for Slade to pull Dick out from under him, wrapping the robe around him and pulling him away.

As soon as Dick realized Slade wasn’t going to let Bruce hurt him, he burst into tears.

“Give him back, Slade,” Bruce said calmly.

“Absolutely not,” Slade snapped. “I will not let you hurt him over something as ridiculous as your ego.”

“He needs to be made obedient.”

“Look at him!” Slade shouted, causing Dick to draw closer to his chest in fear. “You’ve already scared the fuck out of him! I’d say he’ll be obedient out of terror rather than anything else!”

Dick sobbed and Slade turned away from Bruce. “Did he hurt you?” he whispered.

Dick rapidly shook his head. “No,” he whimpered.

“Did he  _ touch  _ you?”

Dick shuddered. “No.”

Slade nodded. “Good,” he said quietly. “Come on. Let’s get you back, okay? Do you feel safe sleeping on your own or do you want to sleep with Jason?”

“Jason.” Dick looked up at Slade as they made their way back. “Do I have to tell him what happened?”

“Not if you don’t want to,” Slade replied, rubbing his hand over Dick’s back.

 

……….

 

After returning to the cave, Dick pulled on a new pair of pajamas before making his way to Jason’s room.

“Dick?”

Jason peeled one eye open as Dick climbed into bed and curled against his side.

“Sorry,” Dick whispered, laying his head down. “Can I...sleep here?”

“Yeah, of course,” Jason rushed to assure, tucking the blanket closer around Dick to make sure he was comfortable. “Is everything okay?”

“Mm,” Dick hummed, glad it was too dark for Jason to see the tears in his eyes. “Just a nightmare.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts!


	14. Love Confessions and More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason tells Dick a little more about his species and Bruce asks Dick some odd questions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all wanted these tags. Y'all talked about them. So here you go. You have only yourselves to blame 
> 
> : P
> 
> Enjoy at your own risk

“Jason?” Dick asked quietly, finding the other curled up in his own room, clutching his stomach. Dick had gotten up early after the nightmare from the night before - which he didn’t even know if it was real since he’d seen both Slade and Bruce and both acted like nothing had happened - and had spent several hours with Tim and Damian before going off to find his own Chosen.

“Hey Dick,” Jason mumbled, peeling open his eyes and smiling as the human walked over and gingerly sat down on the edge of the bed. “How are you?”

“Good,” Dick replied, frowning. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Jason replied, voice strained. “This happens sometimes. I’ll be fine. Just...need a bath and to relax.”

Dick bit his lip. “Can I do anything to help?” he asked.

Jason looked like he wanted to say yes, but didn’t. “No.”

Dick narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t like being lied to.”

Jason sighed, though there was a small smile on his face as he reached out, smile widening when Dick took his hand and interlaced their hands. His Chosen had changed since understanding that being here was for his safety and Jason was a selfish man for enjoying that.

Dick was more cuddly, now. Wanting to be closer to him. Especially after his nightmare. Not that Jason was going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“Yes, there’s something you can do to help,” he replied softly. “But I’m not going to ask you to do it.”

“Why?”

“It’s...weird.”

“Jason, I was fucked by four people, two of which used tentacles,” Dick deadpanned. “I’m sure whatever this is, I can handle it.”

Jason sighed. It was clear he really didn’t want to share, but a painful cramp through the stomach made his choice for him.

“Every couple of years,” he began slowly. “My kind...have to...lay eggs.”

“Eggs,” Dick deadpanned. “Like…” he held up his hands for emphasis. “Little chicken eggs?”

Dick’s innocence was adorable. “No,” Jason replied gently. “Bigger.”

Dick frowned. “Duck?” he asked tentatively.

“Closer to an ostrich's egg size,” Jason replied. “And they’re usually not fertilized unless...we’re Bonded or we want offspring.” he rushed to go one when he saw Dick’s eyes light up in what Jason assumed was fear. “So we lay them, usually about ten in a brood. If we have an Incubator, then they carry the eggs for about two months before...laying them.”

“Do Tim and Bruce and Damian do that?”

“Yes,” Jaosn replied. “Damian is what you’d consider the female of the species, even though his main gender is male. But he has both parts and his second gender is female. So he carries the eggs and Tim lays them.”

“Is it the same with Bruce and Slade?”

“It’s a little more complicated with them,” Jason replied, curling up tighter and squeezing his eyes closed as a painful cramp washed over him. Once it was gone, he went on, a little more breathless than before. 

“Because Slade isn’t of your species?”

“Yes.” Jason breathed through another cramp. The eggs were coming. He needed to get in the bath. “Can you help me?”

“Where?”

“To the bath,” Jason replied, forcing himself into a seated position. “I need to lay down for the eggs.”

Dick bit his lip. “Let me help,” he said in a rush.

Jason looked up at him like he was crazy. “Absolutely not.”

“Please, Jason?” Dick begged. He wasn’t sure if it was a result of the fear from what had almost happened - assuming it wasn’t just a very real nightmare - but Dick wanted so badly to just let himself go along with this. He knew there was a word for what was happening to him, knew  _ something  _ was happening to his head, but he didn’t care.

“Dick, you  _ do  _ understand what you’re signing up for, right?” Jason asked tentatively, one hand still on his stomach as he ushed himself upright. “These are ten ostrich sized eggs that you  _ have  _ to carry for two months. Once they’re in, there’s no getting rid of them. I’ll probably be around  _ all  _ the time to take care of you. So will the others since this is your first brood.”

“I don’t care,” Dick insisted. “You’re my Chosen, Jason. I want to help you.” he bit his lip before adding quietly. “I want to bond with you.”

Jason’s breath escaped him in a harsh breath and it was only when he was hit with a cramp that he managed to breathe gain.

“Alright, one thing at a time,” he mumbled as he sat up right. “Lay down on the bed. We need to start now cause these eggs are  _ coming _ .”

 

…………..

 

“Mm...how much longer?” Dick groaned, throwing his head back as Jason pulled his  _ forearm  _ out of Dick’s ass, the acrobat’s hole fluttering and closing on nothing. He groaned louder when Jason slipped his swollen cock - far larger to get ready for the eggs - into his loose hole.

“The most important thing,” Jason told him as he sheathed himself balls deep inside. “Is to stay relaxed the entire time. Or this is really going to hurt.”

Dick was already starting to regret this but Jason’s cock had already started to swell and he knew it was far too late to back out now.

So with a deep breath and reaching up to grip Jason’s shoulders, Dick forced himself to relax.

“I’m ready.”

 

………….

 

Dick was breathing heavily, stomach bulging and aching when Jason finally pulled out, cock far smaller than before.

“Am I bleeding?” Dick asked in a slightly hysterical voice as Jason sent one of his tentacles to grab a wet washcloth from the bathroom. “Am I bleeding!?”

“Dick, I need you to relax,” Jason soothed as he gently cleaned them both up. “You’re not bleeding you’re okay.”

“I feel like I’m bleeding,” Dick told him frantically, eyes wide. “And my stomach hurts. I feel like I need te bathroom.”

“You’re going to feel like that for a day or two,” Jason told him, carefully helping Dick sit up and wincing when the acrobat’s hands flew to his belly.

“Oh god,” Dick groaned as Jason helped him get comfortable against the headboard of the bed. “Shit, that  _ hurt _ .”

“I know,” Jason said. “You’ll have to stay here for another day or two too. Just so the…” he licked his lips. “You felt the liquid I...secreted at the end?”

“That’s disgusted, but yes,” Dick replied. “I thought it was blood.”

“It takes a day or two for that to hardness around the eggs like a protective sack,” Jason explained. “ONce that’s in place, there’s virtually nothing that can hurt them. Hell, you could probably fall on your stomach and they would barely move.”

“You don’t advise that.”

“No, please don’t fall,” Jason requested. He got to his feet, scrambling to pull his clothes on. “Um...you’re not going to be able to...let me grab you some clothes. I think Damian has some clothes too big for him that he wears while he’s carrying. Let me grab those.”

“Wait!” Dick called as Jason turned to leave. When Jason turned back, he pulled the sheets up to cover himself before speaking. “Are there any weird body changes I should expect? Aside from…” he gestured wordlessly to his belly.

“Damian lactates sometimes,” Jason replied. “Sometimes gets full breasts for the two months then a day or two after.”

“And that’s going to happen to me?”

Jason sighed. “I honestly don’t know,” he replied. “I don’t think any of us have ever laid eggs in a human before. But I swear, Dick, nothing bad is going to happen.”

“I know,” Dick said, smiling. “Thank you.”

Jason frowned. “For what?”

“For letting me help.”

Jason’s face flushed and he cleared his throat. “Thank you for...for offering. It...it means a lot to me, Dick.”

They sat their in uncomfortable silence until Jason clapped his hands together, startling them both.

“Right!” he said loudly. “I am going to go get you some clothes. Just..stay there, please?”

“Jason, I feel really heavy,” Dick told him. “I’ not going anywhere.”

“Good.”

 

……….

 

“I’ve been looking for you.”

Dick went stiff, paling as he turned to find Bruce standing in the doorway to Jason’s room.

“Bruce-”

“Jason laid his eggs in you.”

Dick pulled the sheet higher over himself, even though he knew it would do nothing to hide his belly.

“What do you want?”

“I had a question,” Bruce replied. “What blood type are you?”

“I...excuse me?”

“Blood type.”

Dick shook his head. “A?” he replied.

“Positive?”

“Yes.”

“No-” Bruce chuckled. “I meant is your blood type A positive.”

“I’m not stupkd,” Dick snapped. “Yes, that’s my blood type.”

“Do you have a birthmark?”

“Why are you asking me so many questions?” Dick demanded, only to freeze. “Is this about who you were talking about last night?”

“No, I don’t recall seeing one on you during the ritual,” Bruce murmured to himself. “Though I wasn’t looking.”

Dick sighed. “Yes,” he replied. “It’s like a slash. On the back of my thigh.”

Bruce hummed. “Exactly like…” he snapped his gaze back to Dick. “thank you.”

He was gone and a few seconds later, Jason reappeared with fabric in hand. “I got some clothes,” he told the acrobat. “It’s...kind of like a nightgown but Damian said it’s really comfortable. More comfortable than pants and a shirt and you don’t have to struggle to get it off your legs when it’s time for the eggs.”

“Okay,” Dick said, nodding and letting Jason help him pull the nightgown on. 

Jason took a deep breath as Dick was adjusting the gown, speaking before he could give himself a chance to back out.

“I love you.”

Dick froze, looking up at him. “Jason-”

“You don’t have to say it now,” Jason rushed to tell him. “You don’t have to tell me if you do or don’t feel the same.”

“Jason-”

“I just wanted you to-”

“Jason!” Dick said firmly, giving the other a small, shy smile. “I think I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : )
> 
> Also keep an eye on the tags since I changed them a bit. Shouldn't be too severe but if this has been triggering you at all..
> 
> 1: Probably shouldn't be reading it, TBH  
> 2: Some were removed and a few not so bad ones were added


	15. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Dick finally tells Jason about the night in the woods with Bruce, Jason storms off and demands answers.
> 
> Will Bruce tell the truth or just spill out more lies?

Two Weeks Later

 

“Dick, please, talk to me!” Jason begged for what must have been the hundredth time. “You’ve been having nightmares almost nonstop for the last three days. You wake up screaming-”

“Jason…”

“I just want to help you,” Jason soothed, sitting on the bed next to him, pulling his pregnant Chosen close. “Please. If it’s something I’ve done-”

“It’s not, Jason,” Dick insisted. “Really.”

“Then what is it?”

Dick was quiet for a long time. “That night I crawled into your bed because I had a nightmare…”

“Yeah?”

“It wasn’t a nightmare. At least...not like the dream.”

Jason frowned, worry coiling in his stomach. “What?”

“Bruce woke me up,” Dick explained softly, unable to look at Jason. “Said he wanted to talk privately. In the woods.”

Jason paled. “What did he do?” his voice held a threat that had Dick shivering.

“He wanted to force me into obedience,” Dick replied, blinking away tears. “S-said I was like  _ her _ . Had  _ her _ eyes and he needed to know if I was-”

“Shh, shh,” Jason soothed, pulling Dick close as he began sobbing openly, clinging tightly to Jason. “It’s okay. Just relax. Don’t talk for right now. Just relax, it’s okay.”

When Dick finally calmed down, Jason held his face between his hands. “Dick,” he said quietly. “Did he burt you?”

“No,” Dick assured, shaking his head. “Slade got there in time before it could go too far.”

Jason narrowed his eyes. “That implies something  _ started _ ,” he said slowly. “Dick, what did he do?”

“It’s nothing, Jason.”

“It’s  _ not  _ nothing,” Jason said hotly. He forced himself to calm down before going on. “Tim and Damian and I think Bruce is lying to us about the ritual. We think he’s been lying to us about a lot of stuff. We’re afraid he said you had to stay with us only because you survived-”

“He  _ is  _ lying.”

Jason froze at Dick’s soft words. “What?”

“He’s lying to you,” Dick repeated. “He told me. Said I started questioning stuff. Starting making you and your brothers question stuff. That was why he wanted to force me to submit. He wanted to make sure-”

“Dick,” Jason whispered. “What was he going to do?”

 

………….

 

“You son of a fucking bitch!” Jason shouted, lunging towards Bruce only to be caught by Slade at the last minute. “What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“I don't know what you’re-”

“Who is she?” Jason snarled, struggling in Slade's unwavering grip.

“She?”

“Dick said you were comparing him to someone the night you tried to fucking  _ rape _ him!” Jason screamed. “Who is she?!”

“It doesn’t matter-”

“You  _ hurt  _ my Chosen,” Jason growled. “You’ve been lying to my face for  _ years.  _ Why!?”

“I had to  _ find  _ her, Jason!” Bruce shouted. That got Jason to still, frowning.

“What?” Jason whispered. “I don’t understand.”

Bruce sighed. “Let him go,” he told Slade.

Slade hesitated a moment before doing as he was told but remaining close enough to restrain Jason again if need be.

“Bruce,” Jason said quietly. “Who is she?”

“Her name was Emily,” Bruce replied softly. “A human.”

“Who survived the ritual?”

Bruce rubbed his temples. “There's no ritual. There never was. I made it up. At least...” he sighed. “There  _ is  _ a ritual. It’s just not required.”

Jason paled. “So we...don’t need humans to survive?”

“You did,” Bruce replied. “But no, the rest of us didn’t.”

“You mean all these years,” Jason said quietly. “All those people we killed...they could have survived? Why?” he stilled, eyes going wide. “Oh god,” he whispered. “I  _ hurt  _ Dick. I  _ raped  _ him!”

“It was to keep you alive, Jason, you have to believe me,” Bruce insisted.

Jason shook his head. “Maybe that’s part of it,” he said, anger lacing his words. “What’s the selfish reason?”

Bruce sighed, slumping back in his seat. “Emily was my Chosen,” he explained. “Human. She had been taken by other members of our kind who  _ do  _ use the ritual. But she survived. I took her in and we fell in love. We went through the Bonding Ceremony.”

“What happened?”

“We learned more about her,” Bruce explained, suddenly drained of energy. “Learned she was a  _ Corrupitque.” _

“What’s that?”

“It’s something in her blood that makes her compatible with our kind,” Bruce replied. “It mans she holds  _ our  _ blood in her veins. She was half human, half  _ Tentareculum Prodigium _ . But she died.”

“But you lived,” Jason said. “I don’t-”

“That’s the thing about  _ Corrupitques,”  _ Bruce said softly. “They can die without killing their Chosen too. They were rare. She was the last. Centuries ago, members our kind would feed on the blood of  _ Corrupitques  _ with the belief that it would grant them Pure Immortality.”

“But we’re already immortal.”

“Think of this as a different kind of immortality,” Bruce clarified. “While there are two things that can kill us,  _ nothing  _ can kills those with  _ Pure _ Immortality.”

Jason shook his head. “I don’t understand,” he said quietly. “What does this have to do with Dick?”

“He survived the ritual,” Bruce replied. “Something only a  _ Corrupitque  _ can do.”

“You think he’s one?”

“Not only that,” Bruce replied. “But I think he’s a direct descendent of Emily.”

“That's why you keep going after him,” Jason breathed. “Why you lied and said he had to stay here for his own safety.”

“That wasn’t a lie,” Bruce explained. “Thalia is a traditionalist. She also holds the belive that a  _ Corrupitque  _ grants Pure Immortality. She would have killed him.”

“I still don’t understand how that means he relates to Emily,” Jason said. “I eman, okay I get he might be a direct descendent. But what makes you think that? Why her exactly?”

“He has a birthmark in the same place as she did,” Bruce replied “He has her  _ eyes _ . I felt The Pull. One I haven’t felt since Emily.”

“But Slade’s your Chosen,” Jason said. “You can’t feel The Pull if you’re Bonded.”

“We’re not Bonded,” Slade chimed in. “Not in that way, anyway.”

Jason looked over at him with a frown.“You’re...not his Chosen?”

“No. I’m not.”

“Then who-”

“Slade is bound to serve a lifetime of slavery to me,” Bruce explained.

“You’re a slave?” Jason asked.

“Yes.”

He turned to Bruce, eyes wide. “W-why?”

Slade replied in a monotone voice. “Because I killed Emily.”


	16. Jason Puts His Foot Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bruce lied, to all of us. He had a human Chosen a long time ago but fucking Slade killed her. Bruce is convinced that you’re her descendent.”
> 
> “Like...related to her?”
> 
> “Yeah. Which means you’re in a lot of danger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of mentions of rape in this chapter

Dick turned when Jason suddenly rushed in the room, a fearful look in his eyes.

“Jason?” he asked, frowning as Jason pulled a backpack out from under the bed and began shoving clothes into it. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you have anything in your room you absolutely need?” Jason asked, staring at Dick.

Dick shook his head. “No,” he replied, frowning as Jason continued to shove things into the backpack. “Jason, what’s going on?”

“Bruce lied, to  _ all  _ of us,” Jason snapped, hands shaking as he turned to look at Dick. “He had a human Chosen a long time ago but fucking  _ Slade  _ killed her. And  _ you _ !”

“Me?” Dick asked, frowning.

Jaso closed his eyes tightly, forcing himself to calm down before replying. “Bruce is convinced that you’re her descendent.”

“Like...related to her?”

“Yeah,” Jason replied. “Which means you’re in a lot of danger.”

“What do you mean?”

“His Chosen...Emily, the one he keeps comparing you with, was a  _ Corrupitque  _ which is half human half of our species. It was rumored that the blood of a  _ Corrupitque  _ grants Pure Immortality.”

“So what are you doing?” Dick asked as Jason forced the zipper on the backpack closed, cursing quietly before helping Dick to his feet.

“ _ We  _ are getting out of here,” he replied. “Far away from Bruce and Slade.”

“Why?”

Jason sighed softly, gently turning Dick to face him. “Bruce felt the Pull for you too,” he explained softly. “Not as strongly as I did, but enough that…” he closed his eyes. “Dick, he almost  _ raped  _ you because he thought you were Emily’s descendent. Slade fucking  _ killed  _ her. I will not leave my Chosen close to people like that.”

“What about your brothers?” Dick asked as Jason took his hand and half guided, half pulled him through the twists and turns of the cave. 

“I’m getting you out of here first,” Jason declared. “Far, far away from-”

“What’s going on?”

Jason heaved a loud sigh, turning to find Tim and Damian standing in the entrance of one of the rooms.

“I’m getting Dick away from Bruce and Slade,” Jason replied. “Want to join?”

“How long will you be gone?” Damian asked.

“Forever.”

Tim blinked. “What happened?”

Jason sighed again. “Bruce has been lying to us about everything,” he replied. “The only one of us who really needed the ritual was me. All those people who died, who we  _ raped _ , would have lived if it had just been me.”

“What do you mean we don’t need the ritual?” Damian asked.

“We only need the ritual if we haven’t met our Chosen,” Jason replied. “But Bruce was using the ritual, forcing all those innocent people to their deaths, just to try and find some descendant of his Chosen.”

“Of Slade?”

“Slade is not his Chosen, he’s Bruce’s slave,” Jason replied hotly. “Because Slade killed Bruce’s Chosen who was a  _ Corrupitque  _ apparently.”

“So what does this have to do with Dick?”

“I’m apparently the descendent of Bruce’s Chosen,” Dick replied quietly, one hand on his belly as he’d gotten into the habit of doing over the past two weeks.

“Bruce tried to assault him in the middle of the night,” Jason replied, rage shining in his eyes. “So I’m getting him far  _ far  _ away from here.”

Tim and Damian shared a glance before looking back at Jason and Dick. “Give us five minutes and we’ll come with you.”

 

………………

 

They got lucky  _ somehow  _ that there was  _ another  _ cave close enough that Dick wasn’t tired or exhausted by the time they got there. Once clearing it out of wild animals and finding an open cavern to sleep in, Tim and Jason left to get something for all of them to eat.

When Dick opened his mouth without speaking for the fifth time, Damian lost his patience.

“What do you want?”

“Sorry.”

Damian sighed. “No, I am,” he said. “I shouldn’t have snapped. Did you need something?”

“Can I tell you something?” Dick asked quietly. “I don’t want to tell Jason yet because...cause I lied to him and I don’t want to tell him the truth yet-”

“But you want to tell  _ someone _ ,” Damian concluded. “What is it?”

Dick was silent for a few moments to get the courage before speaking softly. “That night with the...ritual…”

Damian already had a bad feeling about what Dick was going to say. “Yes?”

“It was my first time,” Dick admitted in a whisper.

Damian felt sick. “And you lied and told Jason that you had had experience before.”

“Yeah,” Dick admitted weakly. “Please don’t tell him.”

“I won’t,” Damian agreed, holding up a finger before Dick could speak. “ _ For now.  _ But once you have recovered from the-”

“Egg laying?” Dick asked, raising an eyebrow.

“ _ Birth _ ,” Damian corrected. “Then the four of us will sit down and talk.”

“Why does it have to wait until after?”

“You and Jason aren’t Bonded, not quite,” Damian explained. “Not  _ quite _ . But you’ve...well, I presume the two of you have had sex at least once between the ritual and the impregnation?”

Dick’s face burned. “Yeah?”

“When our kind does that we are laying ourselves bare, quite literally, to our Chosen,” Damian explained. “You give yourself over to them in more than one way. Your souls quite literally tangle for a moment and when you separate, you take a bit of the other with you.”

“So we’re connected?”

“Telling Jason you lied will make him, quite literally, sick,” Damian explained. “Which will, in turn, affect you. Which will cause problems if you’re carrying at the time.”

“So we wait until after I...lay the eggs.”

“Give birth.”

“Whatever,” Dick said, shaking his head with a small smile. “Is he still going to feel sick?”

“Maybe,” Damian replied. “But it won’t affect you as badly. However, I’m sure he’d appreciate an explanation as to  _ why  _ you lied.”

Dick sighed. “I don’t know why,” he admitted softly. “To tell you the truth…” he closed his eyes. “Something happened to me after Bruce attacked me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but...but I don’t hate it here anymore.” 

“How does that make you feel?” Damian asked gently.

“Is scares me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are heating up, my bros


	17. Do You Think Bruce Is Looking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you think Bruce is looking for us?”
> 
> “Do you want him to be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super short chapter but I didn't want to get out of bed to write it and then people came to the house and then I lost track of time
> 
> READ THE END NOTE FOR A SUPER IMPORTANT MESSAGE

“Do you think Bruce is looking for us?”

Tim shot Jason an incredulous look. “Do you  _ want  _ him to be?” he asked.

Jason shrugged, fingers carding through Dick’s hair where the human - half, maybe, if he really was Emily’s descendent - had his head resting in Jason’s lap, curled up as well as he could be and fast asleep.

“It’s been three weeks,” Jason replied. “I mean, he  _ has  _ to have noticed we’re gone by this point.”

“If what father said was true,” Damian mused. “Then he doesn’t care that any of us are gone. He likely only cares about Grayson.”

“We’re his kids,” Tim said, though he sounded somewhat insecure. “We amount to something, right?”

“He lost his Chosen,” Jason said softly. “And if he thinks Dick has any relation to her...well...you now how possessive Bruce can get over shit. How focused. He has a one track mind sometimes and right now, it’s focused solely on Dick.”

“So then yes, father is most certainly looking for us,” Damian concluded. “Is it safe to stay here? If Slade is truly his slave than that means he must do anything for father.”

“Which includes dragging Dick back to him,” Jason hissed. He narrowed his eyes. “Fuck that. I’d sooner die than let  _ my  _ Chosen fall into his hands.”

“Us as well,” Tim confirmed. “We won’t let Bruce get him again, Jason. You have our words.”

Jason nodded. “Thank you.”

They were silent until Jason spoke again, looking down at Dick. “Have you noticed that something seems...off?”

Damain tensed but no one noticed as Tim spoke. “A little, yeah. But what do you mean?”

“He never wanted any of this,” Jason replied. “Then suddenly, he’s wanting to have sex with me, getting in bed with me after a nightmare, carrying my eggs…”

“Perhaps father has been drugging him,” Damian offered.

Jason paused. “It would make sense,” he said quietly. “Bruce and Slade have access to everything we eat before we do…”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Tim said quietly. “Being away from Bruce means being away from whatever, if any, substance Bruce has been putting in his or even our food.”

Jason paused, looking up at him. “You think Bruce has been drugging anyways?”

Tim sighed. “Honestly, Jason, I don’t know what to think anymore,” he replied. “We thought Bruce was telling us the truth about the ritual, but he was lying for his own gain. I honestly don’t think we can trust anything about the man right now.”

“Do we have a plan of attack if Bruce does try and come and reclaim Dick?” Tim asked.

“Yeah,” Jason replied. “We find Emily.”

“I thought you said Slade killed Emily?” Damian asked, frowning.

“I did,” Jason replied. “However, your mother has that stupid lake that brings people back,r ight?”

“It’s a pit, not a lake,” Damian snapped. “But yes. Go on.”

“She cared about Bruce because she can never bond or have Chosen, correct?”

DAmain grit his teeth. “Get to the  _ point _ .”

“She took Dick because she knew he meant something to Bruce,” Jason explained. “So who’s to say she didn’t bring Emily back and then keep her for the same reason?”

There was no reply.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am going on vacation! So that means updates will be on pause from tomorrow (June 29th until July 6th!
> 
> The next update will be on July 7th!  
> (I also just kinda need a break cause I was getting a little stressed trying to meet this self-imposed deadline)
> 
> So look forward to the next chapter on July 7th and yes, I left you on a cliffhanger. I'm horrible, I know
> 
> Yell at me and share theories in the comments!!


	18. Giving Birth and Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick gives birth to the eggs and immediately begins to manipulate Jason soon after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK!!!!!

“Just breathe, Dick,” Jason soothed.

Dick growled, kicking out and landing a weak blow to Jason’s gut which didn’t even come close to fazing the other.

“Fuck you,” Dick snarled breathlessly, sweat soaking the back of his shirt and beading along his hairline.

“Jason is right,” Damian said from nearby. “It will hurt less.”

“I will never, ever,  _ ever  _ agree to this ever again!” Dick shouted, the words falling into an unintelligible cry of pain as another contraction hit.

“You say the same thing every time,” Tim murmured to Damian as he took his Chosen’s hand. “Come on. Let’s give them some privacy.”

As soon as they were gone, Dick let out a quiet groan as he forced himself up enough to grip Jason’s shoulders.

All he’d been able to think about, even through the pain of contractions, was the fact that as soon as he was better, Damian was going to make him tell Jason the truth.

That couldn’t happen under any circumstance. “Jason,” he purred breathlessly, clutching his Chosen close. “Babe.”

“Shh,” Jason soothed, rubbing a hand down Dick’s side. “It’s okay. Just a little longer, okay?”

“Jason,” Dick repeated. “Let’s get out of here, hm?”

Jason frowned as he helped Dick lean down to prop against the mound of pillows against the headboard of the bed.

“What do you mean?”

“When I’m...agh...d-done,” Dick said, throwing his head back and gripping the sheets, instinctually spreading his legs a little wider. “When they’re out…”

“Yeah?” Jason asked, rubbing his warm hand over Dick’s ankle. “What?”

“Let’s get out of here,” Dick repeated, eyes alight. “Find our own place.”

“We have our own place.”

“Not our  _ own _ place,” Dick stressed, even though his eyes watered from the pain. “A place for just you and me. With _ out _ your brothers. We could have kids, or own family, and no one would be there.”

Jason frowned. “Dick, did something happen…?”

Dick shook his head, more in reply to pain as opposed to anything else. Cursing himself, Jason slid a little closer.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Jason promised. “But let’s handle this right now.”

Dick nodded. A moment later, he said, “they’re coming.”

 

……………

 

Laying in the bed together, all the eggs cleaned and gathered in a basket nearby, Jaso and Dick were curled up against noe another with clean sheets draped around them.

“Dick,” Jason murmured after a few silent moments. “What were you talking about earlier? About...about our own place?”

Dick sighed, curling closer into Jason’s chest, both of them naked and exposed to the other.

“Wouldn’t it be nice?” he asked. “Just you, me, maybe a few kids? Aren’t you tired of being around your family all the time?”

“I suppose,” Jason replied. “But they’re my family.”

Dick forced himself up slightly, even though Jason tried to stop ihm. “Jason, Bruce  _ lied  _ to you,” he stressed. “He tried to rape  _ me _ .”

Jason frowned, sitting up as well. “What are you saying?”

“What if Tim and Damian are involved?” Dick whispered. He knew they weren’t, but he needed to get them both away before Damian revealed everything that Dick didn’t want revealed.

Dick had just come to terms with what had happened. He  _ needed  _ Jason to keep touching him in anyway and that wasn’t going to happen if Damian stuck his nose where it didn’t belong.

Jason’s expression turned murderous. “Did they hurt you?” he asked darkly.

“No,” Dick replied softly, trying to play the soft, innocent, fearful Chosen. “But what if they’re involved, Jason? What if they  _ do  _ try to hurt me?”

“I won’t let them,” Jason growled without hesitation. “I’ll kill them first.”

“Jason, that won’t ever have to happen if we run away,” Dick whispered. “Just you, me, any kids we want…” he reached up to curl his hand around the back of Jason’s neck, bringing the other down for a soft, gentle kiss. “No one else. No one who can try and hurt us or our kids.”

Jason’s eyes turned dark as he looked towards the door. “They’re my family,” he murmured.

Dick opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Jason’s lips on his. “But you’re my Chosen,” Jason whispered against Dick’s skin. “You trump them every day.”

“So let’s run,” Dick soothed. “Just you and me.”

Jason hummed quietly. “We wait at least a day,” he determined, missing the angry look that flashed over Dick’s face for a moment. “Just so you can recover. So you’re not in pain. We’re both meant to be sleeping for the next twenty-four hours so Tim and Damian will stay away. Nothing will happen before we get the chance to get out. Should we tell them?”

“Of course not,” Dick replied. “What if they’re in touch with Bruce and Slade? They’ll tell them.”

Jason nodded. “Fair point,” he agreed. “So we rest today. Tomorrow we’ll leave and find our own place.”

Dick pressed a kiss to Jason’s cheek before tugging his Chosen down to lay on the bed next to him.

“Sounds perfect,” he murmured as Jason wrapped his arms around the acrobat who was already drifting to sleep.

In the hallway, Damian narrowed his eyes, having heard everything after coming to ensure Dick was alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just letting you guys know, while I will try to keep up with the every day updates, I might end up fluctuating between every day and every other since every day was starting to wear me down and I was starting to not even want to write this story anymore.
> 
> ANYWAY!!
> 
> LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!!


	19. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian confronts Jason and Jason confronts Dick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not uploading last night. I just really didn't feel like it
> 
> : /
> 
> So I'll probably start uploading every other day. But I will keep uploading, I swear.
> 
> So here! Enjoy!!

“Jason, we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Jason replied as Damian followed him though the halls.

“I heard what Dick said last night,” Damian said firmly. “He’s lying.”

Jason whirled around on him instantly, baring his teeth as he grabbed Damian by the front of his shirt and slammed him into the wall, easily lifting him off the ground.

“What the fuck did you just say to me?” he snarled, eyes burning.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Damian replied, calmly. 

Jason was silent for a moment. “Tell me what you know and do it quickly. You have one chance.”

“When you and Tim went out for food when we first got here,” Damian began. “Dick and I spoke. He admitted that he had never had sex before the ritual.”

Jason went very still. “What?” he said quietly.

Damian pressed on. “He said something happened after farther attacked him and he no longer hates it here.”

Jason pressed his lips together. “Dick was adamant that he didn’t want to be here before that,” eh said quietly. “He even talked about killing himself…”

“And now suddenly he’s asking you for sex?” Damian asked, raising an eyebrow. “Now he’s willing to carry your eggs?”

Jason slowly let him down, stepping back. “He lied to me?” he asked.

“We raped him, Jason,” Damian said firmly, not missing the wince Jason let slip at the word. “Of course he lied. He did so out of fear.”

“You said he went from hating it here to  _ wanting _ to be here, more or less,” Jason murmured, talking more to himself than Damian. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” Damian replied. “But you need to talk to him, Jason. Please.”

Jason nodded. “I will,” he said firmly. “I swear.”

 

…………

 

“What’s wrong?”

Jason gave a weak laugh as he walked into the bedroom and took a seat on the bed, careful to keep a good amount of space between him and Dick and not missing the look of hurt that flashed over his Chosen’s face.

Dick was a damn good actor, Jason would give him that.

“Dick, we need to talk,” he said quietly.

Dick frowned. “Why? About what? What’s wong?”

Jason sighed. “I know that you lied to me,” he ebgan. “About the ritual being your first time. About wanting to be here.”

Dick gave a weak laugh, clearly defensive. “What are you talking about?” he asked, voice shaking just slightly. “It wasn’t my first time, Jason. And I  _ do  _ want to be here”

“But you didn’t at first,” Jason reminded him.

“People change.”

“You changed after Bruce threatened you,” Jason said, turning to face Dick and not missing the horror in the acrobat’s eyes. Like Dick could see everything unraveling around him.

“I’m tired, Jason,” Dick said.

“No you’re not,” Jason cut in, trying to keep the bite out of his voice. “You lied to me, Dick. You hurt me.”

“ _ I  _ hurt  _ you _ ?” Dick snapped, finally losing his cool. “I was ripped away from my life to be  _ raped  _ by a family of fucking monsters in a ritual that they don’t even need!”

Jason winced. Dick had a point but it was never nice to have your flaws thrown back in your face.

“You’re right, I did hurt you,” Jason agreed. 

“No, Jason, I don’t want to fucking be here,” Dick snapped. “But any time I think of leaving, I  _ can’t  _ because some fuckde up part of me loves you!”

Silence fell over the room as the two processed what Dick had just said. “What did you say?” Jason asked in a whisper.

Dick shook his head, shoving himself off the bed and backing towards the door. “I-I didn’t mean-”

“Dick, wait!” Jason called, standing. But he wasn’t fast enough and all too soon, Dick took of running. Jason swore loudly before taking off after him. “Dick!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ; )


	20. Run Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back and I had totally not meant to take such a long break.
> 
> Sorry!!!!!
> 
> Enjoy!!!!

“You need to relax,” Tim said calmly. “Worrying isn’t going to find Dick.”

“Tim, this is  _ my  _ fault!” Jason insisted. “Fuck, how could I let this-”

“If we’re going to play with blame, then father is the one who deserves it,” Damian declared calmly. “But for now, Jason, your Chosen should be our concern. He’s weak from the eggs and not thinking straight. We need to find him before he gets hurt.”

“You think Bruce will go after him?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“So how are we going to find him?”

“Easy,” Tim said calmly. “Where’s the one place he desperately wanted to go back to before this whole nightmare started?”

 

……………….

 

“Dick?”

Dick didn’t bother saying hello, throwing himself into his foster father’s chest and fighting to not break down sobbing.

“Here, let’s get inside,” Amy murmured, rubbing his back as she guided him in to the living room.

“What happened?” Marcus asked quietly as the two of them made their way to the couch. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“You guys have to get out of here,” Dick whispered, still clutching Marcus tightly and fighting down trembles. “You have to get far, far, away from me.”

“Dick, what’s going on?” Amy asked, gently rubbing a hand over his back. “What’s wrong?”

“You have to trust me, you’re in danger!” Dick insisted, blue eyes wide as he pushed himself up, gripping Marcus’s arm in the hopes that he would see reason. “I came here to warn you!”

“Dick, is it…” Amy paused for a moment. “Is it the monster? The one you were sacrificed to?”

“Yes, yes, he’s coming after me! Him and his children!” Dick declared. “Please, I can’t let them hurt you, I-”

He went still at the sound of a knock on the door. “Take the back door,” he hissed, shoving Amy and Marcus up and swaying as he stood. “ _ Please _ .”

“Dick-”

“The person on the other side of that door,” Dick whispered, voice shaking. “Whoever they are. Group A, B, C, it doesn’t matter. They  _ will  _ kill you. Please! I can’t be the reason anything happens to you!”

Amy pressed her lips together before stepping forward. “Promise me you will be safe,” she whispered, taking hold of his face and stroking her thumbs over his cheekbones. “Please?”

Dick nodded. “I promise,” he whispered.

Amy nodded, letting Marcus take her arm and tug her away, to the back door. As soon as they were gone, Dick took a slow deep breath.

“Here goes nothing,” he whispered as he went to open the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know thoughts!


	21. You Misunderstand This Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not going back!” Dick declared loudly, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and brandishing it in front of him. “You can’t make me!”
> 
> Slade’s expression remained blank as he calmly walked forward and pulled the wapon out of Dick’s hold.
> 
> “I think you misunderstand the meaning of this visit."

“I’m not going back!” Dick declared loudly, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and brandishing it in front of him. “You can’t make me!”

Slade’s expression remained blank as he calmly walked forward and pulled the wapon out of Dick’s hold.

“I think you misunderstand the meaning of this visit,” he said calmly. “Yes, Bruce sent me to procure you for him. But see, there’s something about me he doesn’t understand.”

Dick swallowed thickly, hands shaking as he backed away while Slade advanced. “W-”

“I killed Emily for  _ sport _ ,” Slade whispered. “Which is exactly what I shall do to  _ you _ .”

Dick’s eyes went wide and he whimpered as Slade stepped up and gripped his chin.

“Please-” he whispered.

“Go on,” Slade cooed, letting go and giving Dick a gentle shove. “Run. Make this fun for me.”

Dick ran.

 

……………………

 

“Where the  _ fuck  _ is he, Bruce!?” Jason shouted as he stormed into Bruce’s throne room with Tim and Damian flanking him.

Bruce’s expression was even. “Richard or Slade?”

“Richard,” Damian clarified. “He’s run away.”

“I’m aware,” Bruce replied. “He returned home. I sent Slade to fetch him.”

Jason went still. “Dick is Emily, your Chosen’s, descendent.”

“Yes?”

“Slade killed Emily.”

“Yes.”

“And you sent Slade after Dick!?”

“Slade is loyal to me,” Bruce told him. “He will return Dick.”

“Are you sure?” Tim asked. “Because neither of them were at Dick’s home.”

Bruce went still. “What?” he demanded.

“Why did Slade kill Emily?” Tim asked.

Bruce shook his head. “I never knew,” he replied. “I never asked when I bound him to slavery.”

“So who’s to say he’s not going to kill Dick for the same reason?” Tim offered.

Bruce was silent for a long time before he stood. “I’ll find them-”

“You’ll sit your ass down with Tim to watch you,” Jason declared. “ _ I  _ will go after Slade and Dick while Damian speaks with his mother.”

Bruce looked over at his son. “Why?”

“We have mused that perhaps mother brought your Chosen back to life after Slade killed her,” Damian declared. “I am going to discover if this is the truth.”

Bruce sat up. “She might be alive?”

“Hey, focus shithead,” Jason barked, snapping his fingers. “We have to find  _ my  _ Chosen first, got it?”

Bruce hummed. “What will I do?”

“Sit on your ass, like you always do,” Jason fired back before storming off.

 

……………………

 

Dick let out a scream as Slade slammed into him, sending him to the ground and grazing his teeth against Dick’s shoulder.

“I’ll admit, you’re a faster runner than she was,” he purred, pulling Dick to his feet with an arm around the boy’s neck. “Keep going.”

Dick didn’t need the order, sprinting off as soon as Slade let him go. But he was getting tired. He was already weakened, not quite healed, after giving birth to the eggs and Slade had been at this for too long.

Dick wasn’t going to last much longer. His head pounded, vision swaying as darkness began to creep in along his vision. His tongue and throat ached, dry, and each breath stung his lungs.

He was going to die. And there was nothing he could do about it. The last thing he saw as darkness claimed his sight was a man stepping out of the trees before him.

A shock of white hair nestled inside black.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason saves Dick and talks with Slade while Damian confronts his mother

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have totally forgotten this story existed.
> 
> I'm sorry...
> 
> Check out the end night for a poll

“You can’t be serious.”

Bruce sighed, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Emily-”

“Don’t Emily me,” she snapped, stepping outside of his reach. “I don’t  _ trust  _ him, Bruce.”

“Slade is an old friend of mine,” Bruce assured. “He’s not going to do anything.”

“I don’t trust him, Bruce,” Emily stressed.

“It’s just dinner,” Bruce said. “What’s the worst thing that could happen?”

 

……………………

 

Jason barley caught Dick, gathering his Chosen into his arms and pulling him out of the way of Slade just in time.

“You monster,” Jason snarled.

“I’m not the one that raped innocent children,” Slade said calmly, straightening up.

“And I’m not the one who killed them for sport.”

“Hand me the boy, Jason.”

“He’s my  _ Chosen _ .”

“Your ‘Chosen’ hates your guts and would sooner take me on then return to captivity with you,” Slade declared.

Jason bared his teeth but he wasn’t able to deny that what Slade had said was something Jason had been fearing for some time.

“I thought you were Bruce’s slave,” Jason said, adjusting his hold on Dick. “You’re supposed to be loyal.”

“Your father is a fool,” Slade said. “He has no power over me.”

“Why Dick?” Jason asked. “Why Emily? Why kill them?”

“You already know.”

“Pretend I don’t,” Jason insisted. “Why kill them? And don’t tell me it’s because Emily was a  _ Corrupitque.  _ Because I don’t believe that’s the soul reason. And I don’t believe Dick is one either.”

“He is,” Slade replied. “You tasted his blood in the ritual. Describe it to me.”

Jason frowned. “I-”

“Can’t,” Slade finished. “You can’t. Because the taste of a  _ Corrupitque’ _ s blood is indescribable.”

“But you didn’t taste Dick’s blood,” Jason said. “So how do you know he’s one of them?”

“Because he looks like Emily,” Slade replied. “And she was a  _ Corrupitque.” _

“God, what is your fucking obsession with-”

Slade jerked forward faster than Jason was ready for and he growled when he found his jaw held in a tight grip, Slade inches from his face.

“I am not one of your kind,” Slade said in a low voice. “I am not nice. I am not good. I am  _ not  _ your friend.”

“Yeah?” Jason asked. “Neither am I.”

Slade frowned, opening his mouth to object only to choke on his words, stumbling back to find the knife hilt deep in his gut.

“This won’t kill me,” he growled, taking hold of the handle.

“A normal blade won’t,” Jason agreed. “But a  _ magicae gladiis  _ will.”

Slade went still, staring down at the sword in horror. “You wouldn’t,” he demanded. “You don’t kill.”

“You tried to kill my Chosen,” Jason said firmly, eyes burning. “I’m just returning the favor.”

 

………….

 

“Damian,” Thalia said. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I belive you brought father’s Chosen back to life centuries ago,” Damian declared. “I want to see her.”

“What proof do you have?”

“You claim father is your beloved,” Damain replied. “You’ll take anything that has touched him once in an effort to win him back.”

“Example?”

“Richard.”

“Hmm.”

“Where is Emily, mother?”

“Do you think bringing Emily to your father will save Richard?” Thalia asked.

“Not at all,” Damian replied. “Where is she?”

Thalia hummed. “Follow me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So friend's, here is a question.
> 
> Should Emily be alive? Should we take her back to Bruce?  
> Should Dick return with Jason or should Jason let him free?
> 
> I look forward to your thoughts. If there's anything else you'd like to see in the final some chapters, let me know! Suggestions often have a lot of influence


	23. Emily's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily returns and is utterly disgusted when she learns what Bruce has done

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry.
> 
> I forgot about this story despite the fact that the google doc is bookmarked on my computer
> 
> Anyway, quick update. this was originally going to be twenty-five chapters but I feel like I can't stretch it that far so instead, I'm just gonna make it twenty-four chapters.
> 
> So one more chapter to go
> 
> Enjoy!!

“Jason?”

“Oh thank god,” Jason whispered, kneeling next to the couch Dick was lying on. “You’re alive.”

“What...what happened?”

“Slade was going to kill you,” Jason replied. “I intervened.”

Dick pushed himself upright, frowning. “How did you find me?”

Jason gave a weak laugh. “You’re...kind of predictable when you run away.”

Dick smiled slightly, swinging his legs over to rest on the floor. “Where is he? Slade?”

“Dead,” Jason replied. “He tried to kill you, I killed him.”

Dick was quiet. “Oh.”

There was a long moment of silence before Jason placed a gentle hand on Dick’s knee. “How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

Dick took a long, deep breath. “Numb,” he finally replied. “There’s...too much has happened in such a short amount of time, Jason, my head hurts trying to process it.”

Jason dropped his forehead to Dick’s knee. “I know,” he whispered. “ _ Fuck _ , I know and this is all my fault.”

“Jason-”

“Dick, I need you to be very very honest with me right now,” Jason said firmly. “Do you or do you not want to return to the others with me?”

Dick opened and closed his mouth several times before his shoulders fell. “No.”

“Okay,” Jason said softly. “It’s okay. Do you want to be my Chosen?”

Dick sucked in a breath. “Ever or right now?” he asked.

Intrigued, Jason replied, “Right now.”

“No,” Dick replied. “Not...not right now. But if you give me time to...to recover, to focus...my answer might change.”

“Okay,” Jason said as he stood. “Okay good. That’s good, Dick. Do you think you’re going to be okay here if I leave? I can find your parents, bring them back.”

“Please?”

Jason nodded stepping forward before pausing. “May I...may I kiss you?”

Dick pressed his lips together. “Yes.”

Jason bent down and pressed the lightest of kisses on Dick’s forehead. “Slade’s dead,” he said firmly as he straightened up. “You’re going to be just fine.”

Dick nodded, reaching out to take Jason’s wrist before the other could leave. “Take care of your family.”

“I will.”

 

……………………….

 

“Where are Damian and Jason?”

“Damian is going to try and find something important,” Tim replied. “And Jason was going to save his Chosen from  _ your _ mistake.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes but before he could say anything he heard a voice he thought he’d never hear again.

“Bruce?”

He stood quickly, eyes wide as Tim moved and they spotted Damian and Emily walking in.

“Emily?” he whispered, rushing towards her only to be stopped in his tracks by her words.

“What have you done?”

Bruce froze. “What?”

“Your son told me everything,” she said firmly. “What the  _ hell _ have you  _ done _ , Bruce?  _ Raping _ innocent people under the guise of survival!?”

“I can explain-”

“Damian has already explained,” Emily snapped. Her gaze harded. “I could kill you right now, if I want. All it takes is one word.”

“I needed you, Emily!” Bruce insisted, moving to cup her face between his hands. “You were all I had, I...I knew if I could find your descendent,  _ someone _ related to you-”

“Then you could manipulate and brainwash them into becoming your new Chosen?” Emily demanded, backing away and crossing her arms over her chest. She looked over at Tim. “Where is he? My descendent?”

“Back home, where he’s safe,” Jason replied as he stepped into the cave. 

Tim frowned. “Is he-”

“He’s not coming back,” Jason replied. “He said to give him time to make a choice but I know he’s not coming back. I wouldn’t want to.”

Emily nodded, turning back to Bruce. “I have waited to come back to you for centuries,” she whispered. “I only wish this is not what I had to return to.”

“Emily-”

“You are not the man I remember, Bruce,” she went on firmly.

“Emily, please,” Bruce whispered.

Emily turned to face Damian, TIm, and Jason. “Did all of you know that his  _ ritual _ had nothing to do with survival?”

“Not until recently,” Jason replied. “Not until your descendent.”

Emily nodded. “How many years.”

“Too many.”

 

…………………………….

TWO WEEKS LATER

 

Dick was seated on the couch with Amy and Marcus, staring blankly at the TV, when they heard a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Dick offered, if only to escape the pitying glances from Amy and Marcus. He wrapped his blanket tighter around his shoulder as he stood and went to answer the door.

“Dick Grayson?”

He frowned at the young woman. “I am,” he replied. “Who are you?”

“My name is Emily,” she replied. “I’d like to talk to you.”

“About?”

“Bruce.”

Dcik scowled. “I’d rather not.”

“Dick, it’s my fault that all that happened to you.”

Dick frowned, opening and closing his mouth before shaking his head. “Give me a minute,” he mumbled before slipping into the living room to inform Amy and Marcus that he was stepping outside for a moment.

Once he and Emily were seated side by side on the porch, Dick spoke. “How is it your fault?”

“Bruce was my Chosen,” Emily explained. “And his friend, Slade, killed me. So Bruce sent all these years trying to find my descendent in order to…” she shook her head with a laugh. “Replace me, I suppose.”

“And that was me?” Dcik asked.

“Yes,” Emily replied. “Bruce was in love with me Dick, it’s how it works when you meet your Chosen.”

Dick pressed his lips together. “What if I’m not in love with my Chosen?”

“Not all Chosen relationships are romantic,” Emily explained. “My relationship with Bruce was but maybe yours with Jason is. You just don’t know because of the circumstances in which you met him.”

“I want to say I think I care romantically for him,” Dick said softly, tucking the blanket over to him. “But...but I don’t  _ know _ . He hurt me, I-”

“He did hurt you,” Emily replied. “But one thing you have to remember Dick is he had been manipulated and lied to most of his life by Bruce.”

Dick nodded. “Yeah.”

Emily placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not asking you to forgive him,” she said softly. “Knowing what I know, knowing what bruce has done to you and thousands of others, I cannot, in good conscience, ask you to forgive him. But I can ask you to remember that if Jason had his way, I doubt he ever would have done that to you.”

“Yeah,” Dick said softly. “I don’t think he would have, if he’d known the truth.”

“I will never forgive Bruce so long as I live,” Emily said as she stood. “And if you make that same choice, you may. But towards  _ Bruce _ . It was his fault, Dick. Not Jason’s.”

Dick gave her a weak smile. “Thank you, Emily,” he said softly. “So...what are you going to do now?”

“I can’t go back to Bruce,” she replied. “I won’t. He’s a monster, not the man I fell in love with. I might travel. I always wanted I before I met him.

“God luck.”

“And to you too, Dick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?


	24. Five Years Later...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years after the events of chapter twenty-three...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't say much more than what's in the summary without spoilers.
> 
> It's the final chapter so god, PLEASE ENJOY IT
> 
>  
> 
> I'm kidding.
> 
> Probably.
> 
> : P

“Are you just going to stand here all day?”

Jason glanced over his shoulder to find Tim approaching him. “Maybe,” he replied. “It’s a pretty garden, what’s it to you?”

“Just wondered,” Tim replied, coming to stand beside him. After a few moments of silence, he asked softly, “You still miss him, don’t you?”

“Of course not,” Jason responded dismissively, hands shoved into his pockets. “It’s been five years, I’m over it.”

“It’s been five years, but he was your Chosen,” Tim said softly. “That’s got to sting a little.”

“It’s fine.”

“Jason-”

“I said it’s  _ fine _ , Tim!” Jason snapped before immediately sighing. “I hurt him. What I did was...fuck, what we  _ all _ did was  _ wrong _ . I mean, what the fuck were we thinking?”

“We couldn’t have known.”

“We  _ should _ have known,” Jason stressed. “We thought Slade was Bruce’s mate, we should have wondered why the hell he needed the ‘ritual’ if he had a mate. Hell, we should have wondered why you and  _ Damian _ -”

“We thought it was for you-”

“Don’t put the blame on me!” Jason screamed. The two glared at one another, Jason heaving, before Tim took a step back.

“I just wanted to check how you were,” he murmured. 

“It’s been five years,” Jason muttered. “You should have checked sooner.”

Tim nodded. “Are you going to be okay alone?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Jason replied. “Go back to your mate. He’s expecting soon, isn’t he?”

“In a few hours,” Tim replied, shrugging.

“You should be there for the birth of your kids,” Jason said. “How many are you having?”

“The kids aren’t hatching for another few weeks,” Tim reminded him. “But it’s three.”

“Three at once,” Jason muttered. “Fuck. I couldn’t handle that.”

“That’s because you’re a kid too.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah,” he muttered, giving Tim a light shove. “Get out of here and tell Damian I said hi.”

Tim nodded and made to turn only to pause. “Have you heard from Bruce recently?”

“Timbo, no one’s heard from him in five years,” Jason replied. “Honestly, I don’t give a shit about where he is and what he’s doing.”

“And Emily?”

“She was in Paris, last I heard,” Jason said.

“She’s traveling a lot, isn’t she?”

“Talia had her in some sort of contraption to keep her from aging,” Jason replied. “Now that she’s out, she’s aging rapidly. Damian said she probably only has a few months left. So she’s taking advantage of it and traveling.”

“Good for her,” Tim praised. “It’s a shame her Chosen was-”

“Bruce?”

“I was going to say a piece of shit.”

“They’re the same thing, aren’t they?”

Tim chuckled, shaking his head. “Take care of yourself, Jason.”

“You say that like I’m not going to stop by every two weeks to see my nieces or nephews.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “My point still stands.”

 

………………………….

 

“Do you have a thing for gardens or is this just a coincidence?”

Jason whipped around at the voice, eyes going wide as Dick walked towards him. The other’s hair was longer and a little shaggier than Jason remember. He looked more confident though, not as broken and scared as he had been when they’d met.

Jason’s chest ached at the reminder that all of that was his fault. “What do you mean?”

“We met in the garden of the temple, remember?” Dick asked.

“Yeah,” Jason replied. “I was going to talk to you because you were the Sacrifice.” he praised. “How have you been?”

“Everything just feels like a fever dream now,” Dick replied as he walked up to stand beside Jason, gazing out over the garden. “I mean everything that happened just...it didn’t feel like that at first. Actually, I had nightmares for  _ months _ .”

Jason winced.

“But now it’s like...it’s like it never happened.”

“Dick, I’m sorry,” Jason said softly. “For everything we did, everything we put you through,  _ did _ to you, I-”

“Jason,” Dick cut in softly. “Thank you, but that’s unnecessary. That’s not why I sought you out.”

“Oh,” Jason said uselessly before Dick’s words fully registered. “Wait, you sought me out?”

“No, I make it a habit of going into gardens in the hopes of finding a hot tentacle man,” Dick replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. “Yes, I sought you out.”

“Why?”

Dick sighed softly. “I told you five years ago that if you gave me time, I might change my mind about being your Chosen.”

Jason’s heart skipped a beat. “And?”

“And...even though I said nothing feels real, it  _ was _ real,” Dick replied. “All of that  _ happened _ . So...so right now I don’t think I could be your Chosen. At least not romantically the way you probably want.” he turned to face Jason. “But we could be friends?”

It was worded as more of a question but was certainly more than Jason had expected. 

“Friends?” he repeated.

“We don’t have to see each other every day and this way, you don’t die from rejection or whatever yo said might happen,” Dick replied with a small smile. “Honestly, it’s been so long I can’t remember. So much has happened, I’m afraid that part was pushed to the back of my mind.”

“I don’t blame you,” Jason said.

“I talked with Emily five years ago,” Dick went on. “And she explained that not all Chosen relationships are romantic.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“No offense, Jason, but it sounds like you didn’t know a lot.”

Jason winced. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, I was...you’re nice, Jason. You really are. So I thought we could be friends. If something romantic happens, if  _ I _ feel something romantic, then it happens. But until then…” he held out his hands. “Friends?”

“If we’re friends, can I at least have a hug?” Jason asked, holding out his arms.

Dick rolled his eyes with a laugh as he stepped forward and let Jason embrace him. The two stood that way for a few moments until Jason reluctantly let Dick step away.

“So I think we should have a real,  _ formal _ introduction to one another,” Dick said, holding out his hand. “Hi. I’m Dick.”

“Nice to meet you, Dick. I’m Jason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> I am so sorry this took me so freaking long to finish. Like, woah I started this in May, didn't I? May or late June.
> 
> Originally it was every single day a new chapter but then I killed myself doing that and then it was just willy nilly.
> 
> But hey, it got finished unlike a lot of other works
> 
> : P

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts!!!!


End file.
